Vixen's Fate (Creatures of the Lands Book 4) Page 2

  “Any time now, I believe,” Rose answered. “But we need to keep moving. You can play around later.”

  “But he’s just so cute,” Luciana cooed, making Nathanial giggle once more. Luciana looked up at her sister. “You know you want to take a break too. We’ve been looking for the elves for days.”

  “Yes, well, I happen to be able to contain myself a little better than you can, apparently,” Rose answered, though she appeared to be suppressing a laugh. “Come on, Luciana. We have to get going.”

  “Very well.” Luciana got up with a sigh and Rex took his panther form as he jumped out of the tree, taking long, graceful strides.

  “Do you want to go meet the elves, honey, is that what you want to do?” Luciana gushed to Nathanial, utterly obsessed with her son. “I bet you do!”

  “Well, you won’t have to go much farther. You found us.” A soft voice emerged from the trees, and into the light stepped a dark-skinned elf, with pointed ears and long, blonde hair. His clothes were made of the richest silk, and a red velvet robe swept behind him as he walked. “I am Oliver, king of the elves. How can I be of service to you?”

  “I am Luciana Morris. This is my sister, Rose, and my son, Nathanial,” Luciana said. “We’re looking for somewhere to stay. Keota Morimoti told me to find you. He said we would be able to live here.”

  “Keota. Queen Kiatana’s husband?” Oliver asked.

  “That’d be him,” Rose said, smiling.

  “Then you are welcome to stay here as long as you need.” Oliver spread his arms wide in a sweeping invitation and bowed his head slightly. “Any friend of the queen’s is a friend of the elves.”

  Oliver turned to walk through a clump of pine trees, leading them to a small village that had clusters of small huts sturdily built in rows. Elves of all ages ran about doing various things, while children played happily in the paths between the houses. Elven women tended to gardens and laundry, while the men headed into the forest with spears to hunt. Everything seemed quiet, and quite peaceful. Oliver gave them one of the empty huts to stay in, and told Luciana and Rose as long as they contributed to the village, they would be accepted here as one of their own.

  “Now this is a place to raise a child,” Rex said softly, coming up next to Luciana. “I’m sure Nathanial will be very happy here.”

  “You are very right, Rex. If he’s anything like his mother, this will be the perfect place to call home,” Rose said, looking at her sister knowingly.

  Luciana stared at the quaint bustling of the village around her with a smile on her face. Finally, she had somewhere that she could stay that was beautiful and calm, a place without any prejudice, without pain, without Wyntier. This village had no one to scream at her, no accusers, no one who would attack her child. Here, she didn’t have to fade away. She could become one of the elves and lead a simple life, disappearing from memory and time, just like all the other elves that lived here. No great destiny to fulfill or battles to win. Just peace and monotony.

  “Come on, Nathanial, let’s explore.” Luciana began to walk around, carrying her small child in her arms. Rex went to follow her, but Rose stopped him.

  “Let her be with her son,” Rose told him. “You know Luciana as well as I do. She needs time to be on her own every once and a while.”

  “But the last time I let her go out on her own…” Rex sighed, and never finished his thought. Instead of walking by Luciana’s side, he simply changed into a large black dog and followed his Accompany through the village at a distance, to give her some space.

  Even though she couldn’t eat, Luciana enjoyed the smells of food that filled the air. It was getting close to dinner time. She looked up at the sky and felt the sun bake her pale white skin. She spent so many years malnourished, her body thin and weak from the lack of sunlight that was needed to keep her and Rex alive. In Nesting’s Haven, she was forced to stay in her home, away from the light. Here, she could walk in it as much as she wanted.

  Luciana screamed loudly as she bumped into something on the ground, scaring Nathanial and making him cry. Luciana looked down to see a small elven girl, no more than eight, on the ground.

  “I didn’t mean to run into you. I’m sorry,” the elven girl said, looking up with frightened green eyes.

  Embarrassed she’d been so easily frightened by a child, Luciana offered her a hand. “It’s okay, dear. I was just startled, that’s all. I thought you were someone else.”

  “I’m really sorry,” the little girl repeated. “I’m Jessinda.”

  “Well, hello there, Jessinda. I’m Luciana.” Luciana smiled. “This is my son, Nathanial.”

  “Wow! He’s so small.” Jessinda looked at the baby with a surprised expression as Luciana displayed him to her. “And his eyes are very pretty.”

  “I know. Aren’t they just darling?” Luciana said these words flatly, cradling her son closer to her.

  “Where’s his daddy?” Jessinda asked.

  “He doesn’t have a daddy,” Luciana replied distantly. “He’ll probably never have a daddy.”

  “Oh.” Jessinda dropped her head and kicked at the dirt.

  “It’s okay, Jessinda. You didn’t mean to do anything.” Luciana shrugged. “Why don’t you run off and play?”

  “Okay.” Jessinda turned to go, and then stopped. She peered around Luciana, to stare at Rex a short distance away. “You think I could play with your pet sometime? I’ve always wanted a dog.”

  “What do you think, Rex? Would you be willing to play with the children every once in a while?” Luciana looked over her shoulder as she asked him, cocking a grin.

  “If they promise to never pull my tail like someone up there,” Rex said playfully, wagging his tail. Nathanial giggled and kicked his tiny feet as Rex barked loudly, jumping up and down in a circle to play with Jessinda. The elven girl laughed and began to wrestle with Rex, cheering as they toppled to the ground.

  Luciana watched them blankly, her good mood vanquished. She tried to ignore Nathanial’s eyes, but every time someone made mention of them, she was reminded of the resemblance. She couldn’t ignore the gaze of the friend she’d once held dear in her own son’s eyes. It was the gaze of the one who’d stolen her very soul.

  She saw the boy once again. He was sitting on a bed in a strange house, crying. On the walls around him were dozens of pictures, drawings of all kinds of creatures and fairies. She couldn’t remember who any of them were, but she was compelled to look at a drawing of two griffins side by side. The words on top of the drawing spelled Allie and Angel.

  Allie is my name, she thought. Am I that griffin?

  She turned to face the boy once more. Tears ran down his cheeks. He held tightly onto a piece of paper. It was a drawing of the griffin called Allie, and on top of the page were the words “Until I die, I’ll love her.”

  Restlessly, Allie stirred from the strange dream, looking around the dark clearing and blinking her eyes slowly. The dream had made her realize that the boy really didn’t want her dead. He was hurt, and weak. He needed her to come help him. But she couldn’t leave the herd after they had been so good to her, could she? She’d found a home here. Could she leave her new friends so quickly, after they had been the ones to rescue her?

  “No. I must stay here as long as possible,” Allie murmured. “The boy can wait to see me again.”

  But what had been all the mess about the pictures, where she saw herself as a griffin? She wasn’t a griffin, she was a doe. Wasn’t she?

  Allie wasn’t sure. She had a strange feeling that if she wanted to, she could be both.

  “What are you talking about, Allie?” Cozue asked, always close by her side.

  “Nothing, Cozue,” Allie said sweetly. “Just thinking out loud.”

  “Well, why don’t you come take a walk with me, since you’re already up?” Cozue asked.

  “I don’t see why not.” Allie got up slowly, and the two began to hike through the forest. They headed toward the clearing, where the deer
liked to graze. Many deer were active during the night, and some does were looking for food with their fawns.

  “Aw, look at the little fawn over there. He’s so cute. I wonder who his dad is,” Allie commented as a small fawn ran off to cling to his mother, wagging its white tail.

  “That one is mine,” Cozue said proudly. “All of mine are cute like that.”

  “I see. Um...how many kids do you have exactly, Cozue?” Allie asked, trying not to sound too disgusted.

  “Eight, plus one more on the way,” he said, even prouder than before. “You could be the mother of my tenth if you like.”

  “I just realized I have to go,” Allie said quickly. “Goodbye, Cozue.”

  Allie bolted off, knowing Cozue would follow. But she was faster than he was, and easily lost him amongst the trees. Allie didn’t know where she was going, but in that moment, she had to get away.

  She couldn’t abandon the herd. But sooner or later, she’d no longer be able to tell Cozue no.

  Eventually, she’d have to pick for certain. It was the herd or the boy.

  Luciana and Rose had fit right in with the easy lifestyle of the elves, and the elves loved having them there. The children enjoyed playing with Rex, and the usually withdrawn Changer seemed to adore the children as well. He played with them as often as he could, no matter what the weather or what his responsibilities were for the day.

  After they’d been in the village for a few days, shortly after Rex had gone out to keep the younger elves busy, Rose and Luciana decided to explore more of their new home. Nathanial sat wrapped up in his mother’s arms as usual, doing everything he could to get Luciana’s nose.

  “You can’t get my nose, because I have your nose!” Luciana said, gently poking her son. “And I won’t give it back to you, Nathanial!”

  The infant giggled. Rose looked up ahead at one of the huts, where a couple was rolling around in the front yard, laughing loudly. The sight made her smile. “Look at those two. Don’t they just look adorable together?” Rose commented.

  “Yeah. They remind me of how Keota and his wife were, before I split them up,” Luciana said sadly. She looked at the ground before letting out a giggle, raising her son in her arms to swing him in the air. “He’s Nathanial, and he can fly!” she exclaimed.

  The baby’s sweet laughter erupted from his mouth, echoing through the village and catching the attention of the couple in the yard. Once Luciana met the hazel eyes of the man sitting there, she screamed, recoiling in shock and terror.

  “Moorock,” Rose hissed as her eyes narrowed cruelly. She put a hand on the knife attached to her belt and stomped over to the yard, where Moorock rose to his feet, helping the woman that was lying on the ground to stand.

  “What on earth did I do?” he asked, looking from Rose to Luciana blankly, staring at the child in her arms.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you raped my sister!” Rose screamed, yanking out the knife from her belt. Moorock raised his hands in a defensive position and the woman with him dove herself in front of Rose’s blade, unafraid of the Accompany’s threat.

  “My sweet little Moory Eel would do no such thing!” the women yelled, her hair tumbling in front of her face. “Put that knife away, you crazy woman! I’ve had a knife pulled on me many times before, and it will not end well for you if you dare attack us!”

  “Calm down, Miriam.” Moorock placed a hand on her shoulder gently. “Now Rose, I’m sure we can talk about this and figure out exactly what happened.”

  “I don’t want to calm down!” Rose screeched., waving the knife. “You raped my sister, you hideous bastard!”

  Others were starting to take notice of the chaos outside. Elves opened their doors and peeked out of their homes, curious as to what the shouting was all about.

  “I know it was you,” Luciana said, breaking into the conversation for the first time with a shaking voice. “Don’t deny it, Moorock. He has your eyes.” Luciana held out her baby for him to observe, and the former professor turned pale.

  “How do you even know it was him?” Miriam hissed.

  “Just look at my baby and you tell me!” Luciana screamed. “Same eyes and same nose. He looks just like him!”

  The resemblance was too much for even Miriam to deny. Moorock backed away, appearing crestfallen. “I’m sorry, everyone. This is all Wyntier’s fault.”

  “How is it Wyntier’s fault that you raped me?” Luciana wailed. “You were the one who did it, not him!”

  “Exactly! What are you babbling about?” Rose demanded.

  “Sit down. Let’s talk,” Moorock said, gesturing to the yard. Nobody moved, though Rose kept her knife out.

  “My poor little Moory Eel can’t change who he is,” Miriam said in a babyish voice. “It’s not his fault he can’t remember what happens, when he’s his other self.”

  “What?” Luciana looked from the couple to Rose.

  “I will accept responsibility for what I’ve done. Though I cannot remember it,” Moorock said with a tired sigh. “Many years ago, while we were in school, I was fond of helping Wyntier with his experiments. You all remember how he liked to experiment?”

  “I also remember how you used to tag along with him,” Rose snarled. “You did everything he asked without question.”

  “And it led to my biggest mistake,” Moorock insisted. “Just before we were about to graduate, Wyntier gave me some sort of injection. Being the follower I was, I took it willingly. And it altered me beyond repair.” Moorock closed his eyes. “Ever since that day, I have two personalities, one good, and one evil. I switch between the two at random, and I have no control over it. Most of the time, the dark man, the evil man, stays away, but sometimes he comes out. I can’t recall what I do when I become him, but I always know that he only causes pain when he emerges.”

  “That’s not an excuse for what you did,” Rose snarled. “If you really are that way, you need to get help. I can’t believe you have absolutely no remorse about it just because you can’t remember. What kind of sick bastard are you?”

  “No one can reverse the damage that Wyntier caused,” Moorock said. “I only admitted recently that I needed to get as far away from Nesting’s Haven as possible. The dark man is becoming worse and worse, and nothing I do can stop him. I told Miriam to stay behind and continue to run the library at Dinkleberry University, but she insisted on coming with me. If I had stayed any longer, I would’ve hurt one of my students. As I’ve hurt Luciana.”

  He looked at Luciana. “Listen, I’m sorry about what happened. I’ll help you care for the baby, if you wish…”

  “NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Luciana yelled. “You shall not come anywhere near this baby! He is my son, and I refuse to let you so much as look at him again!”

  Luciana spun on her heels and stalked off angrily, clutching Nathanial to her breast. Rose walked closer to Moorock, poking the dagger directly into his chest. “I’m warning you, you and your...whatever she means to you,” she sent a sharp glance Miriam’s way, “Better leave as soon as possible. My sister and I have finally found a home, and we’re not going to share it with her rapist. If you don’t move as far away from us as you can, I’ll chase you out. I don’t care what I have to do to make you leave.”

  Moorock narrowed his eyes. “Very well. Give us a few days and we’ll be gone.”

  “You’d better be. If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you. That’s a promise,” she hissed. Rose shot Moorock a cruel glare before taking off after her little sister.

  As Luciana and Rose left, Miriam turned to Moorock. “Even if you were your other self, what would make him go after Luciana like that?” she asked, stroking his arm. “She doesn’t seem like much of a threat.”

  “But she is,” Moorock replied solemnly. “Luciana is a threat because she doesn’t look like she is. She is incredibly strong when angry.”

  “Do you think Wyntier planned this? Somehow put you near Luciana at the right time, just before you were about to become dark?” Mir
iam asked.

  “I don’t know!” Moorock threw up his hands in confusion. “I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

  “Well, now you have two children,” Miriam told him, smiling. “Under unfortunate circumstances, I suppose, but it’s still worth celebrating.”

  “Luciana only had one son,” Moorock replied slowly.

  “Yes, but my daughter is yours as well, darling,” Miriam said. “Not Adam’s.”

  Moorock frowned. “Really. And why am I just being told this now?”

  “Because I just now decided that you would make a much better father than Adam,” Miriam said promptly. “Technically, Adam has no rights to Reagan because she’s your daughter.”

  “She must be seventeen now,” he shrugged. “She may not want to come with you.”

  “If she’s anything like I was at seventeen, she already doesn’t want anything to do with the man she thinks is her father,” Miriam replied. “Or perhaps she’s still playing the games I used to at that age.”

  “Do you know where she is?” Moorock asked.

  Miriam shook her head. “No. All I’m aware of is that she and Adam left Detroit and came to the Lands for his research. But since we must leave the elves, I don’t see why we shouldn’t start looking for her.”

  “As you wish, my dear,” Moorock said, kissing her. “Luciana certainly doesn’t want me around. I can’t blame her.”

  Miriam snuggled against her lover. “I am so glad I left Detroit for you, Moory. You give me so much more than Adam ever could.”

  Chapter Three

  Waiting For Death

  Allie paced back and forth along the river bend, tangled up in her own thoughts. It was the morning after Cozue had scared her off, and being on her own that night made her frightened. She missed Orphiyus, Stream and Star, but most of all, she missed the strong buck that had chased her away in the first place. That night had been rife with more thoughts of the boy. She couldn’t take it anymore. She would rather have ten of Cozue’s children then have one more image of the boy in her head. What was she, a scared little fawn, to run at the first sign of trouble? No…she was a deer, and she would stand and face what she knew had to be her destiny. If she wanted to be rid of these dreams, she had to do what she had to do, and that was join the herd completely by becoming a mother.