Demon, Guardian, The Fallen, Oh My mates! Esmerelda's Story

Chapter three

I have spent the last nearly two weeks trying to find the right spell to unlock the writing on the letters. I think I finally figured it out, but I won’t be able to test it until tomorrow night. It requires the power of a full moon to reach maximum effectiveness which will allow me to read all of the letters and not just one.

I sigh as I put the spell books away. The only problem with tomorrow night is that it is our birthday party. I will have to make sure that I have all my materials prepared beforehand. I will have to sneak off right after our shifts. I should easily be able to get away from everyone. Nobody knows this other than Timby, but I have shifted before into Harmonia. I was not very old. Maybe five or six at the time.

We snuck away from the family during a picnic when Timberlink was home for a holiday from his training with Grandpa Ares. We were playing hide and seek and I was the one seeking. Timberlink was very good at hiding because of Grandpa’s training. So I didn’t realize I had passed him several times. I was starting to get really scared because he had been hidden for a really long time for my young self. Timberlink had thought he was being funny at the time, but later regretted it after what happened.

He jumped out of his hiding spot growling like a monster. It scared me so bad that I had an accident and then when I was crying uncontrollably Harmonia took over and shifted to protect me. Timberlink fought with Harmonia for a good while before he could calm her down and realize that he wasn’t really a monster trying to hurt me. Once I shifted back he gave me his shirt to wear and promised he wouldn’t tell anyone about what happened. I was very embarrassed about wetting myself and he understood that.

Anyway, I am a fast runner in my human form, but Harmonia, now she is something else. She is faster than anyone I have ever seen run. I tested it once. I hid my scent with a spell and raced against Dad (Ethan). I was able to run two laps to his one around the castle grounds. I will be able to get away after we go for our run. I will keep with them for a little bit, but then I will dip out when they are distracted.

Since I had my plan in place for tomorrow night I laid in my bed just staring up at the ceiling. Since I am not focusing on the letters right now I think about the other things that have been nagging at me since my mother’s first day in her coma. Like how my magic has not gone haywire since then. I have a better control over it I guess. I am not sure. Then there is the thing with Timberlink.

He is my brother. Adopted, but still my brother. He is also what is called a guardian. My guardian to be exact. Guardian for what, I don’t know. What I do know is that we have a bond similar to the matebond in a sense but not romantic. So why then is it that every time I meet his eyes I get sucked in. Then I start to look at his lips. They are plump yet still manly looking. I just want to taste them.

There! That right there is what I am talking about! It is like I enter the twilight zone or something when I look into Timberlink’s eyes. Like I forget that he was raised as my brother. I am hoping that it is just a mixup in my brain somewhere until I turn eighteen that will spontaneously right itself. Or at least that is what I am telling myself. I have a nagging feeling that my life is going to be turned upside down tomorrow.

I sigh as I try to not think about him and his eyes. My fathers have been acting strange since they read their letters. Not in a bad way exactly. They have just been more distant from all of us kids. They have been locking themselves in their office after breakfast and don’t come out until after the little kids are in bed. I know they miss mom, but they need to remember that we are still here and need them too.

I am brought out of my thoughts when I hear a soft frantic knock on my door. “Come in!” I called out. I knew by the scent it was my little sister Sierra.

The door burst open and I see Sierra standing there with blood on her arms and clothes crying hysterically. I rushed to her to assess the damage and see where she was bleeding. I couldn’t find any wounds so I was really worried now. I finally hear what she has been trying to tell me between sobs. “Nico fell down the ravine… Marty tried to help….He fell too…Blood everywhere. I climb. I get help!”

I quickly mindlink Ares and Dimitri, ‘Emergency! Twins fell down the ravine. Where are you so I can….’

I stopped my link as I heard the thunderous steps of my brothers rushing down the hall to my room. As soon as they appeared I grabbed Dimitri’s hand and opened a portal while saying, “Ares, you stay with Sierra and try to get ahold of our fathers. I am going to teleport with Dimitri to get them to the infirmary.” I stuck around long enough to see him nod and then pick up Sierra to soothe her.

I drug Dimitri through the open portal and before I could close it someone else had run through. “You are not going without me. You can’t avoid me when it comes to your safety.” Timberlink said pointedly at me. I didn’t have time to argue with him so I just nodded and started to run to where I could scent the twins. The stench of blood was strong, but I could hear their heartbeats and they were strong and steady. Some of my anxiety cooled down, but I was still concerned about their state.

“Marty! Nico!” I yelled out.

“We’re here!” Nico yelled out.

We rushed to the edge of the cliff and there I saw my brothers. Nico’s arm was definitely broken. The bone was protruding from his elbow. Marty was a little worse off. His leg was broken and thankfully didn’t break through the skin. He must have hit his head hard because he has a large gash on his forehead that is a big source of the blood. Head wounds always bleed more than any other. At least that is what my medic training courses had told me.

After I assessed the situation I knew it was safe for me to teleport down to the boys. Unlike mom, I don’t need a portal open to travel through space and time. I can just think about a place and that is where I will be so long as I have been there or can see it. It was scary the first time it happened to me, but now I love it. I don’t do it often because Mom must have known that I could do something along those lines, and she warned me about the addictiveness of magic. I was fifteen at the time. This was right before Grandma Sandra and Grandpa Alexander were killed.

I popped up beside Marty and Nico and I grabbed Marty’s hand and Nico’s before I teleported us to the infirmary. Right in front of the Doctor on call. “Oh my Goddess! What happened?” One of the nurses asked as she rushed to stop the bleeding on Marty’s head.

“They fell in the ravine. I got them here as fast as I could.” I rushed out. Now that I had them here at the hospital my calm was wearing off. I don’t know why, but my anger just started to grow and grow. Why weren’t they at training like they were supposed to be? Sierra was supposed to be at preschool. Where were my fathers?

Ares showed up not long after I did with Sierra in his arms. She had fallen asleep crying. “How are they?” Ares asked.

I shake my head and tears fall down my cheeks. I wipe my eyes and sniffle a bit before I reply, “They have some injuries. Nico has a broken arm. His bones were sticking out of his skin. Marty has a broken leg and a nasty gash on his forehead. The doctors and nurses are with them now.”

“What the hell were they doing playing near the ravine anyway?” Ares asked.

“I don’t know. Usually Daddy (Alexi) is with Sierra at preschool for show and tell on Thursdays and Dad (Ethan) is training the boys at this time. Where are they? Didn’t you tell them?” I asked.

He just shakes his head before he said, “I couldn’t get ahold of them. They blocked their links and no one answered the office door. I know they were in there because I could smell them, but they didn’t come to the door or call out at all.”

I furrowed my brows at that and my anger began to grow again. “Stay here.” Harmonia and I commanded together. She was just as angry as I was right now. I didn’t mean to throw out an alpha command. I was surprised that it worked as Ares bowed his head in submission to me. That has never happened before, and judging by the look on his face Ares was just as surprised as I was.

I quickly teleported out of the infirmary and straight into my father’s office before I thought too much about it. That’s when I saw them laying on the couches out cold. What in the actual hell? Then I take in the rest of the office and see that there are candles and herbs on the floor along with a chalk outline for a magic circle. They put themselves into a dreamstate. I could only guess so they could spend time with Mom. I can understand that. I really can, but they have small pups that need them. They can’t just clock out on us.

I snapped my fingers extinguishing the candles all at once, causing the spell to break. I watched as their eyes quickly fluttered open. Both growling and snarling at me. Once they regained some clarity they saw me with my arms crossed with a glare Mom would have been proud of. My left foot was tapping before I let loose on them, “Have you forgotten you have young pups? Do you know where your young pups are right now? No. You don’t. Because you obviously don’t care about us since you have decided that we didn’t need any of our parents. You are selfish! While your sons are in the infirmary you are here sleeping trying to connect with Mom!”

Daddy (Alexi) was the first to snap out of his daze as he jumped to his feet and frantically said, “Why didn’t anyone mindlink us!? Are they ok? f**k!”

“We tried! You had us all blocked.” I yelled out.

“Then why didn’t anyone just come get us?” Dad (Ethan) asked.

I walked to the door and turned the nob only for it not to budge. Being supernaturals you would think that we could just break it, but no. Mother had made sure that certain doors could not be breached with brute force. The office with confidential files in it, was one of those rooms. I unlocked it and opened the door seeing the tiny bloody handprints from where Sierra must have tried to get them first. I turned to my fathers with disappointment and judgement in my eyes and voice, “It seems as if your tiny pup did try to get you, but you ignored her. Her bloody handprints are right here as proof! I don’t know who you are anymore. You aren’t the loving and caring fathers that I remember growing up. Just because mom is not with us right now doesn’t mean you can just leave us too! We need you too!” I screamed out as tears began to fall.

All of my anger left me all at once and finally the real root of my problem made itself known. I felt abandoned. I felt as if all of our parents had abandoned all of us. I was feeling overwhelmed by it all. I hadn’t realized that I had been taking care of everyone since Mom has been gone until now. I was mentally exhausted.

My fathers both wrapped their arms around me, apologizing profusely. I just sighed and teleported us to the infirmary. There, we were greeted by Ares, Dimitri, and Timberlink. Ares still had Sierra in his arms. Before anyone could say or do anything the door opened where the doctors had wheeled the boys away and the doctor came out of the room. She took a look at all of us and you could just feel the tension in the room ratchet up a notch.

“They will be fine. Prince Marty has a concussion, but will recover if he rests. He has a broken leg and will be in a cast for at least two weeks just to ensure it heals properly. Young prince Nico suffered a broken arm. He will need surgery to repair the bones that had already started to heal incorrectly. He will then be in a cast for two weeks as well after his skin heals enough for the plaster. Please follow Nurse Bianca and she will take you to sign the paperwork while we prep the prince for surgery.”

After that the doctor left and Dad (Ethan) followed the nurse to sign the papers. Everyone was quiet. No one dared to make a sound to break the silence. Then without speaking Ares walked up to Daddy (Alexi) and placed Sierra in his arms before he walked out of the infirmary. Dimitri followed closely behind him. ‘Let us know when Nico comes out of surgery. We need to let off some steam before we do something we will regret.’ Dimitri spoke in our shared link. I sighed and sat down already knowing that this was going to be a long day and probably an even longer night.