The Unveiling

Chapter Thirteen

I woke in my own bed, dim candles within the room casting soothing shadows on the wall. I turned my head slightly, only for a roaring headache to make its presence known. 

A movement from the other-side of my room caught my eye and I turned my head to find Chase sitting across from me, his eyes tracking my every movement. 

“You’re awake,” he said, sounding relieved. 

I sat up and winced, causing him to rush forward. 

“Here, drink this,” he said, handing me a glass of water and some painkillers. 

I swallowed them dutifully and asked, “Did anyone get hurt?” 

His eyes softened as he shook his head, “No, I shielded the baseball pitch so that the damage was limited to that area.” 

I shut my eyes at that information. The damage - how much damage had I caused. 

“How bad is it?” I asked, fearing what he would say. 

He broke into a small smile, “just some scorched earth and a damaged tree,” he dipped his head, “and, the President and the Mayor now understand my worth as your trainer,” he added with a wink. 

I scoffed, of course the arrogant ass would make this beneficial for him. 

His large hand slid over mine, stroking my thumb soothingly. 

“What happened?” He asked, searching my face for answers. 

His gaze seemed to uncover all, and once more I shut my eyes, fighting the feeling of being stripped bare. I had caused that damage. I was a danger to this society, to this realm. Did my actions today mean that my life was in danger? Would they want to put me down like some feral animal? Nice to look at and pull out as the trump card - ‘look, here’s our angel’, but should I pose too much of a hassle, then something to simply be snuffed out? 

A tear slid down my cheek, and I felt his calloused thumb brush it away with a tenderness I didn’t know he was capable of. 

“What?” he asked. 

And I sobbed. And sobbed. And sobbed. 

I cried for the fear of not knowing how my power would be taken. I cried for the fear of me not knowing whether the trickster was a part of me, or was in fact something other. I cried for the fact that I even had this power. I cried for the fact that I was alone, so very alone in this world. But mostly, I cried because I knew that I was dangerous. I wanted to be the soft, lovable, feminine creature that could be held and embraced by all, and yet, I was anything but. The notion of angelic blood being benevolent and graceful was an illusion, for I was teeth and claws and vengeance rolled into lightning form. 

After the last of my sobs had wracked through my body, I sat in bed and told Chase about what happened. I told him about the trickster. I told him about my metal walls solidifying. I told him how I was trapped. And, I told him that I was scared that the trickster was me. And when he looked down at my splotchy red face, he didn’t turn away, he climbed onto the bed and lay next to me, holding me in comfort. 

As I drifted off to sleep once more, the painkillers doing their work, I felt a feather-light kiss touch my forehead. Restorative darkness engulfed me. 

I wasn’t sure what time it was, or even what day it was when I woke, but I must of made a sound because a large male with white blonde shoulder length hair, poked his head in from the doorway. 

I bolted upright, clutching the blankets to my chest. 

“Reya,” he spoke calmly, as if trying to soothe a frightened animal, “my name is Kai, Chase had to leave, but he asked me to stand guard.” 

He smiled reassuringly, and I took the time to really look at him and realised that he emanated the same otherworldly presence that Chase did. Full Fae then. Swirling tattoos peeked out from above his shirt, onto his neckline and It made me think of Chase causing me to briefly wondered where else Chase may have tattoos. And, I stopped those thoughts right in their tracks. 

“Chase left?” I asked, unsure of what to make of the situation. 

Kai grimaced, “He simply went back home to collect information for you.” 

I sank back into the pillows. Chase had left. I supposed he didn’t owe me anything, but I guess I had thought that after he held me he would be here when I woke. 

“Do you need more painkillers or anything?” Kai asked. 

I simply nodded my head and drank the pills, inviting in the darkness, my mind a swirl of thoughts and muddled memories.

‘Hello,’ he whispered, and I found myself in that half-asleep; half-awake state that happened for a few moments just before you woke up. 

I tripped over my own feet, following the sound of the voice. 

I came face-to-face with the bronzed angel from my dreams. 

“Seraphim,” I acknowledged. 

He smiled, his cheeks crinkling with the action. 

“You are so much more than we could have hoped for,” he spoke softly, his voice melodic in the same way that the waves were. He was the baking sunshine on a beach, the taste of salt on your lips, and the feeling of sand between your toes. 

“What am I supposed to do?” I half begged, hoping that this bronzed angel, that was almost too beautiful to look at, would somehow hold the answers and be able to simply tell me what I should do. 

He smiled once more. 

“Do not distress young one. Your task is not a small one, but by simply being you it's already in motion, for you Reya will shift the universe. You will merge worlds, and in so doing you will create something that hasn’t truly existed before.” 

“And what is that?” I asked, holding my breath. 

“Peace,” he answered. 

I scoffed. 

“Don’t think there won’t be a cost for it though,” he warned. 

“And what is the cost?” I asked, stepping forward, my neck straining as I had to look up at Seraphim. 

“War,” he spoke, the sound of waves crashing in the distance, “the cost will always be war.” 

I stilled, allowing his words to settle. 

“Is it worth it?”  I whispered. 

“Only you can decide,” and as he spoke, warmth engulfed me in an embrace that spoke of remembrance and belonging, as I watched him fade out in shades of oranges, pinks and purples. 

I woke to sunlight streaming through my windows. As my eyes adjusted, I felt a hand on top of mine, delicate in nature. 

When I looked down I saw that Sarah had fallen asleep in a chair positioned next to my bed, her hand resting on mine. 

I smiled for a minute, acknowledging that this person had come here for me. She was here to check on my well being. It didn't matter if my powers were deemed a danger to society, for the ones who cared, for the ones who truly mattered, they would brave my storm - and for that I was grateful. 

"Sarah," I woke her gently. 

She sat bolt upright. "Oh mother - you're awake," she spoke straightening her glasses. 

Her glasses. It didn't add up. 

So I asked, "why do you wear glasses?" 

One of the benefits of the veil lifting was that most of our human ailments and limitations disappeared. This was especially true for the Fae and shifter races, with many no longer requiring chronic medication or glasses. 

She frowned. 

"You're going to think I'm crazy," she said as she shook her head. 

"I just signed the earth with lightning," I said, "I hardly think I'm in any position to call anyone else crazy." 

She nodded her head with a small smile. 

"I guess," she shrugged. "I don't need glasses," she said what I already knew, "but before the veil lifted I did." 

I furrowed my brow as I tried to follow her train of thought. 

"So when the veil lifted and I no longer needed them, I didn't feel like myself. All of these changes were so sudden that I couldn't recognize who I was. I mean, yeah I'm a shifter, and yes I'm an owl, but those are just descriptions and things I can do - it's not who I am. Not really anyway. And so I decided that I didn't want to change. That what people were rejoicing was the rejection of a flaw, but I didn't feel flawed, not really. So a week after the veil lifted I got my lenses in my glasses changed out to clear glass and slipped them straight back on." 

I smiled at her answer. Sarah was so much more than she presented herself to the world. I moved over and patted the bed, "come on," I said, making space for her. 

As we sat next to each other she asked, "Are you okay?" Her eyes glistened in the sunlight. 

"I think so," I answered as honestly as I could, "I'm just lucky that Chase was there to minimize the damage." 

"Speaking of…" she let the words hang in the air as I rolled my eyes. 

Laughing she added, "Yeah, I guess not too much can happen while you're passed out." 

"And you?" I asked her. The last time I saw her she was talking to Abros at the bar of the Autumn cookout. I didn't want to have to tell her about Abros and Laurel. I wasn't even sure what to make of it. 

"Well," she said as she kept her eyes fixed on the blanket and fidgeted with her hands, "Laurel and Abros are engaged.' 

I hid my surprise and simply muttered, "Abros is an ass anyway, the two probably deserve one another," I spoke boldly. 

But the memory of Laurel's pinned wrists spoke a different story, and I wondered if she even wanted to be engaged to him. 

"Yeah, I guess," she said. 

We stayed curled up in bed talking about movies and music. 

And when she asked me, "Have you ever?" 

I answered honestly about Thom - and about how he had left me wanting and unfulfilled and wondering what the hell all the hype was about. 

It was at that moment that Chase stuck his head in the room and asked if we wanted noodle soup or pizza - they were ordering in. 

I blushed and refused to make eye contact, staring at the comforter as I answered "Pizza please." 

Kai whipped from the living room, it seemed the pizza and noodle soup delivery came down to a vote with pizza being a firm favourite. 

As soon  as Chase left the room, Sarah looked at me questioning. I simply shook my head, unsure of what to say. 

Not long after we finished the pizza, Kai admitted that he needed to go back home- to which Chase agreed. He looked sad to be leaving, tapping me on the shoulder with a hurried "look after him" before he departed. I simply responded "sure," but I doubted that someone like Chase needed looking after. 

Once everyone had left, Chase and I washed up in companionable silence, with him washing and me drying. I may have scrubbed the counter longer than necessary, avoiding the conversation that needed to be had. I wasn't sure what to say, or even what needed to be said, and so I chose to focus on scrubbing that one spot out of the counter top. 

"Hey," he spoke gently. I glanced up, knowing that he had information to share and I couldn't avoid it forever. 

"Are you okay?" He asked. 

Was I okay? I thought back to my day, and despite everything that had happened, I felt whole, and so I nodded, "yeah, I'm good actually." 

"Okay, well I have information on the trickster if you want it?" 

He didn't lord the information over me, and he didn't simply provide it, shoving it down my throat in case I wasn't ready, instead he offered it. And in a world where information was power, and where this information could easily be used as a bargaining tool, he simply offered it to me. And I think that told me all I needed to know about Chase. He was good - even if he didn't wholly believe it. 

“Tell me,” I breathed, as we sat on the couch, our thighs pressed together. 

“His name is Silas,” he spoke, and I settled in for his tale.

Silas was a Pharaoh of times long past. In life he was kind and just, and people adored him. His tomb - encased in a pyramid, was shrouded with gold and jewels, with people travelling across the lands to offer a token towards his passing. 

And when he entered the gates of the realm of death, he was bestowed with godlike gifts, as thanks to having lived a full life in servitude of his people. The gifts, though, came with a warning  that they could not be used against the gods themselves. 

Silas readily agreed, and was granted shape shifting abilities. It allowed him to live the rest of his life out in that realm experiencing all facets of creation, so should he choose to return into the realm of the living one day, he can do so with the intrinsic knowledge of helping all creatures - not simply those beings that he governed. 

Silas spent years as a dragonfly, understanding that the rhythm and flight of its course served as a song unto itself. He then moved over as a fox, absorbing the ability to be stealthy and swift. He spent many years as a horse, galloping in freedom, and at times offering others a lift. 

One day a rumour spread through the forest within the realm of death that the gods themselves were meeting to discuss a disturbance that would affect all realms. The meeting was closed, for only the eyes and ears of the gods to see and hear. 

But Silas was curious, and so he shifted into a beetle and squeezed himself under the large doorway of the meeting room. 

As the gods and goddesses filed in, each taking their seat, a gavel was hit against a stone pillar, indicating that the meeting had indeed begun. As soon as the gavel touched the stone, a wave of energy shimmered through the air, seeking out anything - or anyone - that didn’t belong in that meeting. 

Silas’ beetle-like form was thrust into the centre of the room, as the power encircled him, forcing him to shift back into his human-like stature. He stood naked and shivering beneath the gods’ stares. He shifted and apologised profusely, but the gods would not listen.They had emphatically told everyone within this realm that this was a closed meeting. And when Silas’ pleas and apologies turned to the outright lie of ‘he didn’t know,’ the gods grew angry and issued their punishment. 

Silas was banished to a cage hanging in the ether of the universe, with his shape-shifting abilities only able to work upon his face. He would always be trapped in the body of a man, so that he may be reminded of where he began, with the ever-changing face of an animal, so that he will remember what he lost. 

“And what of freedom?” I asked Chase. 

Chase cleared his throat and spoke, “If he is able to find someone who has the power and is willing to free him then he may do so, but it will be at that persons’ own peril.” 

“s**t,” I spoke quietly. 

“I’m inclined to agree,” Chase answered.