Second Coming

Chapter 16

    Ayla looked around her in a combination of awe and disgust as she walked through the city the humans had created. She had to fight to keep herself from holding her nose and coughing. There were very few trees and plants in the city and so the air was thick and hard to breathe. After leaving Andre's territory, Ayla had carefully taken off the spider silk clothes she wore and hid them. She then put on the more modern clothes that she had fashioned out of the elements with her power. She kept her hair long and loose so that it covered her pointed ears. Thousands of years had passed and the knowledge that the humans had of the supernatural faded into myths. Even dressed as one of them, Ayla got strange looks from some. She wandered through the streets, bumped into people, lost. Finally she just stopped. She needed to take a breath, center herself and then concentrate on finding the growing darkness. She could sense it more in the city. There was less light here, less nature and it was a place like this that darkness would gather and fester like an infected wound. The sound of water drew Ayla from her thoughts and she turned her head to see a large cluster of green.

There were trees, flowers, large and small plants, as well as a creek. Ayla exhaled in relief. At least not all of nature was expelled from the city and with a smile she walked into the large park. Ayla had foregone that path and walked in the grass. The trees appeared to sigh around her as her power washed over them. The plants and flowers that were wilting from lack of water sprung to life as she walked past or touched them. In the center of the park was a huge ancient oak tree. The trunk was knarled and cracked in places but Ayla could feel the life within. Lovingly, Ayla lay her hand against the tree trunk and felt it shudder. She unleashed the power from within her and let it flow into the tree. The life within had been near death, having been locked away from the rest of its kind. " Take what you need from me, cousin." Ayla whispered as her eyes filled with tears. The life within took the power Ayla offered without hesitation and soon the tree was restored. The trunk was no longer knarled and cracked and the leaves were green and bountiful. Ayla lifted her hand and stepped back as the trunk of the tree opened and a lithe man stepped out. His ears were longer than Ayla's but not by much and he had burnished tanned skin. His hair was was a dark mahogany, held back from his face with intricate braids. His hair though didn't detract from his masculinity. When he was completely out of the tree, he bowed to Ayla. " Thank you, bright one," he said in a deep voice. When he stood back up, Ayla pulled him into her arms, her tears spilling over. The male wrapped his arms around Ayla and held her tightly. " I am overjoyed to see you Ayla." He said, his voice cracking with emotion. " I am happy to see you to Talai. It saddens me to know that you almost died. I missed you cousin." She said. Talai hugged Ayla tighter and his own tears fell down his cheeks. " I missed you to." He said.

A throat clearing behind them had Ayla and Talai, turning ready to fight. A woman stood in front of them, her hands raised non-threateningly. " I am not going to hurt you, I only wanted to warn you that it is not safe here for either of you." She said. Ayla looked the woman over. She was taller than her by a couple of inches but she had a small stature. She had long blond hair and vivid green eyes. It was the her pale skin and her fangs peeking out that alerted Ayla and Talai that she was a vampire. They relaxed from their offensive stances and eyed the woman warily. Ana couldn't believe that she has encountered not one but two Fae in the middle of the park. The man she knew was a dryad warrior and he smelled older than she was. The tiny woman beside him however, she glowed with power but Ana couldn't scent it on her. She could however scent that the woman was a lot older than the male beside her. " Please come and join my coven for the night. It will be much safer with us. There are demons out tonight, I can smell them." She said. Ayla and Talai looked at each other and then back at the woman. Ayla reached out her senses but all she could sense was the woman's urge to help them. Ayla looked at Talai, shrugged and then they both followed after the woman.