CHAPTER Twenty Three
The three of us congregated around the now upright kitchen table. I set the large copper kettle on the stove to boil and began preparing some coffee, setting out three mugs. Tom kept sending sidelong glances to Alex until exasperatedly I hissed that he could more than be trusted and knew everything that was going on.
“Including…?” The question in Tom’s voice was obvious.
“That she’s human? I’m a mage, dude, I knew within about 0.5 seconds.”
“Alright, dude,” Tom sarcastically snapped back.
“Hey boys, let’s chill, shall we?” I commented, try to aim for a light tone. It was an unusual day when I was the one trying to keep the peace. I guessed that the stress and fear was getting to everyone.
Both of them slumped slightly and looked guiltily at each other. I continued on, all business-like. “So what’s with the funny looks, Tom?” I really wanted to ask him if he was planning on joining the Brethren but, given the circumstances, decided that I’d have to leave that topic alone.
He started. ‘Eh?”
“After you attacked me this afternoon,…”
“I thought you were another monster!” he interrupted, protesting.
I shot him a look and said drily, ‘Thanks. Like I was saying, after you attacked me this afternoon, mistakenly, you kept looking at me like I’d sprouted horns or something. What was that all about?”
He coloured and coughed slightly. “Your blood.”
I looked at him blankly.
“It tasted funny,” he said. “As if it was hot…and,” he fiddled with his cuffs, “tasty.”
Both Alex and I stared at him.
“It’s not my fault! It tasted nice, okay? And strange. But not like anything I’ve ever had before.”
I opened my mouth to speak but Alex beat me to it. “Have you tasted human blood before?”
This again. Alex was clearly still convinced that I wasn’t actually human.
“Of course not!” Tom replied defensively.
“So you’ve got nothing to compare it to then,” Alex said slowly.
“What do you think I am? I might be a shifter, but I don’t go around eating people.” He had a disgusted look on his face.
“Anton,” I said suddenly.
“What?”
“Anton sneaked into the dorm and stole my t-shirt.” I was starting to feel a bit sick.
“Uh, what’s your point? Are you trying to tell me that he’s secretly had the hots for you all these years and wanted to steal your clothes? Or that he’s a closet cross dresser?”
I held Tom’s eyes. “It had my blood on it. He told Julia that he,” I paused and swallowed, “had developed a taste for it.”
“The bloodfire!” Tom exclaimed suddenly.
Alex looked confused so I explained. “When I get angry or upset, I feel hot inside. Sometimes very hot. Like fire. It helps me to think and seems to make me… stronger. And sometimes I can call on it if I need some help to focus.”
“I told you!” Alex almost shouted so that I had to hush him in case we woke anyone up. “You’re not actually human. And you’re just telling me about this fire stuff now. Honestly, dude, for a bright girl sometimes you are duuuumb.”
“Of course she’s human,” Tom said, puzzled. “She’s always been human. She smells human. I mean, not right now with Julia’s lotion on, but usually. “ He looked directly at me. “You’re strong, Mack, but you’re not otherworld strong.”
I took offense at that. “I can beat Anton. And I can beat you.”
“In skill, sure, but not strength. Not really.”
I scoffed slightly but couldn’t really argue. Alex took up the thread again though. “Why can you hear Corrigan’s Voice? Why could you hear John’s and Julia’s?”
“They can’t compel me,” I pointed out. “And I can touch silver.”
Alex shrugged. “Minor points probably related to the fact that you’re not a shifter. Does your blood do anything else?”
I was about to say no, when I suddenly thought of how I’d managed to escape from the faerie ring. There had been blood on my hands by the time I punched through it. “Er…”
At that moment the kettle on the stove began to whistle. I sprang up, glad to have the excuse of tending to it and pouring the coffee. Could it be true? Could I really not be human? I felt both elated and deflated at the same time. Both Alex and Tom remained silent until I’d placed the cafetiere on the table, along with the mugs.
“It’s time you open that file,” Alex said softly.
“What file?” asked Tom.
I filled him in on what had happened in the study, trying to stall having to actually open the damned thing. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know any more. But there had to be a reason why John had papers about me kept in magically locked drawer. It’d be pointless having something that secure that just said I was human, wouldn’t it? Everyone in the keep already knew that.
“Mack Attack…”
Tom raised his eyebrows slightly at my newly acquired nickname. Wait until he heard the kitten one.
“I should go and visit Julia first, and make sure she’s alright.” I neglected to mention that I already had. Perhaps I didn’t need to know what was in the file after all.
“There’s nothing you can do,” Alex replied calmly. “She’s sedated and being looked after by the doc. She won’t even know you’re there.”
“I’ll know that,” I growled.
“Quit trying to put it off,” he said, firmly. “I can vouch that Julia’s not going anywhere, not yet at least. Look at the file first, then go.”
I took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to be able to get out of this. “Fine.” My backpack was in the corner of the kitchen beside the door, where I’d dumped it when I came in. I carefully kept my back to Tom, blocking his view. I still didn’t want him to see the flash of silver because there was no way I was going to give him the chance of trying to be a hero and volunteering to come with me through the portal. All this file and human/not human stuff was just a speed bump. Once Tom was safely out of the way, I still planned to get Alex to do his stuff and put a tracer on the cloth.
I pulled out the clump of papers and sat back down at the table, nervously smoothing them over.
“We can give you some space,” Alex said kindly.
“No,” I replied quickly. “I’d like you to stay here. Both of you.” I didn’t want to do this alone.
Each of them nodded. I felt a shiver in my stomach and turned over the first sheet.
It was a photo of me, aged seven, clipped to a letter. I scanned down it to the bottom to see the signatory and the world suddenly stopped. It was from my mother.
I lifted my eyes to Tom and Alex and swallowed out the words. “It’s from my mum.”
“Your…. But, how, can that be?” Tom burst out.
I shook my head in confusion. Alex told me to read it out.
Dear John,
I know it has been a long time since I’ve contacted you, and, believe me, I wouldn’t be doing it now if I thought I had another choice.
I’m in trouble. They’re getting closer and Mackenzie is in danger. If they catch her, you know what they will do. I need to know that she’ll be safe. It’s a lot to ask, especially because of pack rules, but I need you to look after her for me. I know that she’ll be safe with you. I’ll be in Cornwall in a few days’ time and be able to leave her at the keep. She doesn’t understand what is happening, and it’s probably better that she never does. If she stays with you, then she never needs to know the truth. She’s strong, and she can look after herself, but sometimes when she gets angry I feel afraid. I can see the power inside her. Maybe you can turn her when she’s older and then it won’t matter. I have no idea if it will work. But they can’t find her, John, no matter what.
Please believe me that if there was another way then that’s what I’d do. You’re my last hope, and my daughter’s.
Martha
My mother had already known John before she left me here? And what did she mean that she was afraid of me? “What am I?” I whispered, aghast.
Tom was tense and motionless, but Alex reached out and gently touched me on the arm.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”
I flipped to the next page, heart in my mouth, terrified at what I might read next. It was a medical form with my name at the top. I had a faint memory from not long after I arrived, of John taking me into his study and pulling out a needle. I’d been so frightened and had tried to back away, but he’d soothed me and said it wouldn’t hurt for long. That it was just in case there was an accident and they needed to do a blood transfusion. I hadn’t even understood what that was at the time but something about the look in his eyes made me trust him so I’d offered him my arm and let him draw my blood. I wondered why I’d not remember that until now. John had certainly never mentioned it again after that day.
I stared down at the smudged piece of paper.
“Red?” prompted Tom, softly.
I passed it over him and he read over it, drawing in a sharp breath and then turning it over to Alex.
“Oh my God,” Alex breathed. “Now it all makes sense. This is why you are so strong, and feel fire in your blood. This is why you can hear Voices. And this must be why Iabartu…” His voice trailed off and he looked at me sadly.
“Uh, who’s Iabartu?” Tom asked, brow furrowed.
Tears filled my eyes. It was my fault after all. Craw had been right. John had died protecting me, hiding me. Julia was lying upstairs fighting for her life because of me. Four Brethren shifters were dead because of me. I fought the tears back and felt rage and fire fill me. Without thinking, I stood up, violently kicking back my chair and flung my mug against the tiled kitchen wall, spattering it with dark coffee stains and shattering the porcelain. An inhuman cry fell from my lips and I picked up the chair and began hitting it against the wall.
“No! It can’t be me, it can’t be my fault,” I gasped, slamming the wooden frame against the wall, again and again and again, until a small wooden leg was all that was left in my hands. I threw it to the side and doubled over in pain, hugging myself. It was my blood that the bitch wanted. I howled in grief, anguish and anger.
I was part dragon.