Born Of Nothing

5

3 “I’ll be there in a second, let me answer my phone first,” I called out across the house to my mom, who had hollered at me to help with supper. Becca’s name lit up on the phone screen, and I beamed as I swiped to answer. “Hey, Becca, what’s the story?” “Hey, Cat! Girl time, that’s what. You, me, and Ashley having a sleep over while all the men are off in Faery conducting their top-secret ceremony to induct Lochlan in as the new Erlking. I just found out or I would have told you today at work.” She and I both worked at the Ulster Museum in downtown Belfast and had bonded over the fact that we both knew about the existence of the Fae —me because my family was a long line of druids, and her because she had been turned Fae, a fact she had only recently been made aware of. She had quickly become my closest friend, much to my mother’s horror. The druids had been hunted by the Fae at one point many centuries ago, and since that time, each generation of druids has been indoctrinated into a culture of fear and secrecy. My time with Rebecca had quickly taught me that our blanket fears had been unjustified, but my mom was more resistant to abandoning her teachings. “When would this slumber party be happening?” “In two nights, Wednesday. I wish it was over the weekend, but I don’t seem to have a say in when they conduct their ceremony. We can watch movies, eat junk food, and catch up, so bring nail polish, facial goodies, comfy pajamas—all the important girlie necessities.” Becca was about six years older than me, but it never seemed to bother her. It was incredibly sweet that she was including me in her girls’ night. Ashley was Rebecca’s best friend, and they’d both moved over to Belfast from the States just months earlier. Ashley had also been turned Fae, but instead of Rebecca’s slow transition, Ashley had been turned after a brush with death. Two conversions in such a short time may have made it sound like becoming Fae was an everyday thing, but it wasn’t. The two women were the only known instances of a human becoming Fae, and both were transformed by the ancient Fae sorcerer Merlin. As far as I was concerned, they were still just Rebecca and Ashley, my friends. “I’d love to come, if you’re sure you and Ashley are okay with me crashing the party.” “Don’t be silly, of course we want you there. No excuses. After work Wednesday, you’ll come home with me, and the three of us will have the place to ourselves.” “That sounds perfect.” I hoped she could hear the sincerity in my words and know how excited I was to join them. “Sweet! I’ll see you at work in the morning.” “Ugh, don’t remind me.” She gave a commiserating laugh, and we said our goodbyes. Although I was thrilled with the invitation, my excitement was dulled by the impending argument that would result from telling my mom about the girls’ night. Had I not lived at home still, I wouldn’t have bothered telling her at all. I had plans to move out, but she wouldn’t allow me to live with just anyone. The girl my mother had selected as my roommate was about to graduate from school, and I was counting down the days. My mother and I had a lot of great times together, but her overbearing tendencies suffocated me. It had always been just the two of us, so I had grown up trying my best to keep her happy. Maybe I had finally matured past the need to please her, or maybe my friendship with Rebecca had changed me, either way, each day I found it harder and harder to tolerate my mother’s paranoia. She kept tabs on my every movement, and there would be no hiding the fact that I stayed away for the night. I would have to be upfront and tell her my plans, and there would doubtless be yet another fight. When I first informed my mother that Becca had the Sight and was linked to the Fae, it took her days before she allowed me to return to work. She only reluctantly agreed to send me back to the museum because my boss was one of our fellow druids and could ‘look out for me’. The druids had descended from the humans who had been taught magic by the Fae. A large number of those had been a group of women who had served as the handmaids to the Seelie Queen. The group became close with the queen, and in return, she taught them all about magic and the Fae world. When the queen closed the portals between our worlds, she sent the human women back to their homes on Earth. Not long after, the Wild Hunt came in search of the women, claiming the queen had sentenced them to death. The Fae warriors killed many of the queen’s handmaids, causing the rest to go into hiding. The surviving women remained close and passed on their knowledge, and their fears, to each subsequent generation. For centuries the druid people lived in hiding, unsure if or when the Wild Hunt might come after them again. When Rebecca showed up in Belfast, everything changed. We learned that the Seelie Queen had not ordered the murder of our ancestors, as we’d believed. Morgan Le Fay had been the culprit behind the killings. She despised Queen Guin and had fooled the Erlking Odin into believing the order had come from the queen. Morgan’s actions had caused a war between the Hunt and the Seelie Court only settled after the queen had killed the Erlking. The truth surfaced that the Fae cared little about the existence of the druid people and we no longer had reason to hide. However, my mother still had not backed down from her staunch belief that the Fae would kill us on sight if given the opportunity. She had no idea that I’d been spending time at the Huntsman, let alone that I’d found several of the guys were a lot of fun to be around. It was easier to leave her in the dark. Maybe someday her prejudices wouldn’t taint her perceptions, but I wasn’t about to hold my breath. I joined my mom in the kitchen where she was busy preparing a sausage dinner. Our home was small, it had always been just the two of us, which likely hadn’t helped her overprotective instincts. We had our own bedrooms but shared a cramped bathroom. The kitchen and living area were separate spaces, kept tidy and furnished with only the necessities so as not to clutter the limited space. I’d lived in the house my entire life and had plenty of good memories of my childhood there, but it was time for this chickadee to leave the nest. “What can I do to help?” I asked my mom as I entered the kitchen.