Within the Sapphire Forest

Chapter 12

There were people milling about outside, going about their daily lives. Several turned and waived to us as we passed by, and I smiled shyly back. Thanks to the community's paved roads and sidewalks, Melissa had no trouble pushing me around. 

The hospital, which looked more like a warehouse on the outside than a hospital, sat at the edge of the community, so they dragged me through the neighborhood first. The houses were all unique in one way or another, some three stories tall while being very skinny, some only the base floor, but spreading out. Some houses looked like they were built for large families, some for a few friends, and some for people to live alone. And they all ranged in colors and materials, built to the exact specifications of those who lived in them.

On the other side of the neighborhood was a small, single story building that reminded me of a daycare instead of a house.

“That’s the school,” Elise announced. “We don’t have a lot of children here right now, so all ages are taught in that building.”

I nodded, understanding. I went to school in a similar set up after my mother died, but there were only six of us in my class, and I was the youngest, so the other students mostly ignored me.

“Mrs. Lowry said we could stop by and talk to the kids, if you wanted to,” the she-wolf suggested.

“Sure, what else are we going to do?” I agreed.

Together, they pulled and pushed my wheelchair into the building, careful of my leg. Then they pushed me through the entrance way and into the large living room like area, where roughly fifteen children sat facing one older woman. They all looked up at us as we entered the room, and my face burned with the attention.

“Sorry to interrupt, but you did say we could swing by whenever Evianna was out of the hospital,” Elise said to the group.

“Absolutely,” the woman beamed, “come right in. Make room so Evianna can join us.”

The children scooted their chair out of the way so Melissa could push me to the front. She turned me so I was next to the teacher, facing the children.

“Class, this is a very special occasion for us, since we don’t normally get such unique guest speakers. As you all know, Miss Woods and Miss Parker helped save the pack when Nathan attacked, using their powers as witches to thwart the traitors’ attempts to take over the pack. Maybe, if they're feeling up to it, they could give us a small example of their powers?” she asked looking between us. “Of course, you don’t have to, but I would love it if you wouldn’t mind answering some questions from the class.”

Melissa and I nodded, and Mrs. Lowry took a seat next to her students. Hands shot into the air before we even had a chance to ask for any. Melissa nodded to a young man in the back.

“What kinds of powers do you have?” he asked us.

Melissa answered first, saying, “Well, our powers vary, but we each have specific talents. Mine, for example, is electrical magical, or electrokinesis.” she demonstrated by letting sparks dance between or fingertips. “My electrokinesis allows me to shoot lightning from my hands, call for electrical storms, pull energy from power wires and natural storms. I can also teleport using electricity, which is how I’ve been able to take care of Evianna’s home, my own, and be back here all in an hour. 

“Another one of my powers is called catoptromancy, which just means that I can use mirrors to watch people and places. It doesn’t let me see into the future, that’s a whole other power, but if I gaze into a mirror, and I focus really hard on Evianna, the image in the mirror shifts to show me what she's doing at that exact moment.”

I saw the young adults’ eyes widen with inappropriate thoughts.

“Before you ask, most witches have spells and charms in place to keep others from spying on them using this technique. It’s also considered absolutely disgusting to use this magic to spy on anyone.”

I snickered as their faces fell, and all eyes turned to me.

“I have a variety of abilities. Witches’ powers continue to grow and develop as they age, so we tend to discover new powers every few years. I have a distinct talent for healing creatures,” I explained.

“Tyler, do you remember that sticky substance we put on your arm? Miss Woods created that substance,” Mrs Lowry added.

I was shocked, but then I remembered I’d given Melissa permission to grab my supplies to help everyone.

“Yeah, that’s mostly just a bunch of herbs smashed together into a salve. I make a lot of potions and salves to heal my creatures back home. I never imagined it would be used to heal werewolves. Part of my healing magic is being able to transfer my energy into another to boost their healing process. I can also look into anything’s body and see where they’re injured. I use my energy to flow through the body, and see where it’s not flowing right.

“I can also astral project, which allows me to throw my consciousness out of my body, so I can see the world around me, without my body actually being in danger. I’ve also managed to use my ability to teleport myself across long distances.

“Finally, there’s my telekinetic power, which is just this,” I emphasized by causing the children’s notebooks to float lazily in the air. Some of the younger ones gasped and giggled, trying to reach out and touch them. I set them back down gently in their hands.

When I finished, hands flew into the air. Melissa called on a small girl in the front.

“What creatures do you take care of?” she asked, quietly.

“Right now, I care for a manticore, a mermaid, a dragon, a brownie, pixies and fairies,” I answered.

“What’s a brownie?” someone called out, but without their hand raised, I couldn’t see who it was.

“Brownies are shy, household sprites that are small enough to fit in your palm. When you have a brownie living in your home, and your kind to them, they usually respond by taking care of your house in the night. If you’re mean to them, however, they lash out by destroying your home.”

A teenage girl in the back raised her hand, and I nodded to her.

“How old is the dragon?”

“She’s almost three years old now,” I told her.

“How big is she, and will she get bigger?”

Their excitement over my creatures lifted my spirits immensely.

“She’s fifteen pounds, about the size of a cat, and when she reaches maturity, she’ll easily exceed fifteen thousand pounds, larger than the largest elephant. Dragons never actually stop growing, however, they just slow down after they reach about one hundred years of age, around the time they mature.”

Another hand went up, and Melissa called on a younger boy.

“What’s the biggest dragon ever?” he asked.

“I think the largest dragon on record went by the name Noctis, and he lived nearly ten thousand years ago.” Their eyes lit up with wonder as I said his name. “He was so enormous that when he flew, he blocked out the sun entirely, covering the land in darkness. His scales were jet black, and they reflected the torch lights of the villages below him, so many humans just thought he was the night sky. It was written that when he died, he stood taller than the sky, longer than earth, and larger than any other creature that lived before him. Italian magicians, ancestors of some modern day witches, were the ones to find his body, over three thousand years ago, and they named him ‘Night’ to remember him forever. It’s said that his body still lies in Italy to this day.”

They were all silent for a moment, then their hands shot up, many of them waving for attention. I pointed to a red haired girl in the middle, who I hadn’t heard from yet.

“If his body is still in Italy, how come no one’s ever seen it,” she challenged. 

Melissa and I looked at each other and smirked. We grew up on these stories, knew them by heart, so to have them all so intrigued was such a thrill.

“Everyone who visits Italy sees his body, they just don’t realize it,” I responded, earning a few confused looks. “Anyone ever heard of Mount Vesuvius? It’s said that when his body began to decay, the mages of that time feared for the world. Dragon bodies explode after they’ve been dead for so long, and the mages knew that at his size, Noctis would destroy the world when his time came. So they cast a protective spell to hide his body, and keep his energy contained, except it didn’t go as planned. His power diminished over time, returning to the earth, but the spell they cast had to be maintained, and they let their guard down, and one day, it broke, and an entire town was covered in the destructive power of a dead dragon.”

Silence again settled on the room as everyone stared at me in shock. 

Mrs. Lowry jumped to her feet, regaining the attention of the room.

“That is absolutely fascinating, Miss Woods, and if I didn’t have assignments to hand out, I would insist you stay and tell us more. I would like to schedule a day that you and Miss Parker can guest lecture the class about some witch culture. I think that would be absolutely fascinating.”

I nodded, excited for the opportunity to return and tell them more stories.

“Class, what do we say to Miss Woods and Miss Parker?” she asked.

Enthusiastically, they all shouted, “Thank you!”

I giggled and waved as Elise and Melissa rolled me out of the building.

“That was so much fun,” I cheered once we were outside again. “I definitely can’t wait to go back and teach them more about our culture and magic and magical creatures.”

They laughed, obviously enjoying my good mood.

They continued their tour, starting with the training arena, which looked like a round rodeo arena surrounded by bleachers, but it was larger than any rodeo arena I’d ever seen, over three times the size. It reminded me of the roman coliseum, only modernized.

Next was the supply center, a community operated building where everyone in the pack could collect food, paper goods, clothing, and other things they needed throughout the week. 

There were playgrounds scattered around the community, for the children, and a park with a pond and ducks, and even a rec center, where the pack held dances, played pool, older members could drink, and everyone could have fun.

It really was a beautiful community where everyone cared for each other.

We approached the mansion, as Elise referred to it, and I realized it had been a while since I’d seen Caden. He hadn’t been to the hospital to see me in at least two days, and in my depressive state, I hadn’t even noticed.

“What’s Caden doing?” I asked quietly, feeling my heart leap to my throat.

I was afraid that he’d had enough of me and was off looking for his “Princess” so they could pick up where they left off.

“He, his father, Justin, and a few other warriors went on a scouting mission to see if they could locate Nathan’s rogue pack. He left on Tuesday, and he should be back by tonight, at least if he sticks to his timeline.”

Relieved, I relaxed a bit, and felt the exhaustion of the day’s events wash over me. My body ached, and I started to feel the pain in my leg again.

“Do you think he would mind if I took a quick nap in his room? I’m pretty tired, and my leg hurts,” I explained.

“Not at all. I’m sure he’d actually be pissed if we let you fall asleep anywhere else right now,” Elise assured me.

Elise opened the bag that held all the medical equipment she’d grabbed early, and pulled out a bottle of pills. She dropped two in my hand and offered me a water bottle and I quickly downed them both.

“That should help your leg, but it’ll definitely make you pretty drowsy,” she mentioned as she pushed me towards the front door.

All I could do was nod.

Melissa and Elise helped me into the house, and rounded up some stronger members to carry my wheelchair up the stairs. Once on the second floor, I had yet another fabulous thought.

“Please, tell me he at least cleaned his room already,” I said.

They froze in confusion for a moment, before understanding dawned on Melissa’s face.

“Oh, um, I don’t know, but if it’s not, I’m sure we can clean up while you nap,” Melissa offered.

Elise didn’t look as okay with that plan as Melissa was, but she didn’t object or give any other ideas, so we proceeded down the hall.

Melissa opened the door, while Elise pushed me in and we all came face to face with a tall amazonian woman laying on Caden’s bed. I had to double check the wall paintings to see if we were in the right room. Sure enough, the walls were covered in green trees, and the bedspread was the same gray comforter as before. With no other explanation, I had to come to terms with what I was seeing.

If she was just hanging out on the bed, I think I could have handled it all a lot better. She, however, wore only a tiny black lace bralette, and matching lace thong. Both items were so small, I worried that I’d get a peek at something I definitely didn’t want to see if she shifted the wrong way. She was laying on her side with her head resting on her hand, waiting expectantly for something that obviously wasn’t us.

“Sorry, wrong room,” Melissa shouted as she slammed the door shut and pushed Elise, who pushed me, back down the hallway.

“Oh my goddess,” Elise whispered. “I saw her whole damn titties through that thing.”

“Same,” Melissa agreed.

I couldn’t muster a single word, as I was too focused on fighting back the nausea that was climbing up my stomach.

“Who the f**k was that, and what the f**k is she doing in there?” Melissa asked as we reached the stairs again.

“Her name is Zoey, and she’s the ex-girlfriend,” Elise explained. “She and Alpha Caden were off and on for a while, but last I checked, they’d broken up a month before his incident in the woods. I’m assuming that now that he’s back and stepping up to his alpha duties, she wants to get back together with him.”

“I think I’m going to throw up,” I announced, feeling my head spin.

Elise was gone and back in a flash, a small trash can in her hand, just in time to catch the vomit that ejected itself from my system.

“Hey, are you okay?” Melissa asked, grabbing my hair.

“I’m just really woozy from everything that happened today, and I don’t think this is helping,” I answered, closing my eyes to keep the room from spinning.

“When was the last time you ate?” Elise questioned softly.

I shook my head. I couldn’t remember.

Then I heard a ringing, and opened my eyes to see Elise holding her phone in one hand and the trash in front of me with the other. The phone was on speaker, so I heard when someone answered.

“Hello?”

It was familiar, but the phone distorted the sound a little and in my exhausted state, it took me a second too long to realize it was Caden.

“Alpha, it’s Elise. How soon do you think you’ll be back?” she asked.

“I’m about five minutes out, why?”

“Well, Evianna is out of the hospital, on Doc’s orders of course, and she was going to take a quick nap in your room, and we discovered a visitor waiting for you.”

My stomach rioted again, and I threw up into the trash with a loud heaving sound.

“What was that?” Caden asked.

“Evianna is sick, and we’re not sure what to do right now.”

Caden cussed viciously, then said, “I’m almost there, just wait for me.”

The call ended, sending us into an awkward moment of me heaving, and the other girls waiting. Elise handed the trash off to Melissa and hurried off without warning, returning with a damp cloth. She held it to my forehead for me, cooling me down.

I heard the door slam downstairs, and the footsteps of someone rushing through halls and up the stairs. The girls shuffled out of the way and when I looked up, I met the worried gaze of my beautiful wolf.