Aurora breathed in deeply as she woke to the shouts of children and running feet hitting the wooden floor panels. Her window was open to let in the morning scar-light and what little warmth she could get to help warm her cramped room at the orphanage. Mother Ceris would be up already, making sure the morning chores got done and helping with breakfast in the kitchens. Her tiny room was one of 8 inhabitable rooms of a collapsed 5 story building that used to be a majestic living space before turning into another dredge of the slums around Quorluna. The top 2 stories had collapsed in on the building after its original inhabitants had left. The remaining 3 floors had been reinforced by the Guardians to ensure proper living conditions for their Elder’s unusual plan to begin an orphanage so far away from the reservation.
There was a ninth room, which had been evacuated due to a problematic rodent infestation when the kids had begun hording food behind their beds. Things had been more cramped than usual as shed spread the children from that room among the others for the moment. Mother Ceris was supposed to work on getting that all cleared out with one of the cleaning companies in the city. Aurora shook her head as she sleepily headed down the hall, that girl was getting slower and slower by the day. The smell of bacon wafted through the air.
Mmmmm. Bacon. It reminded her of older tastes she had experienced. Sizzling meats over the fires of uncultured jungles and undiscovered wilds filled with animals that towered over the people that risked hunting them. But that was another time, another place. Remember where you are now, she chided herself.
At least she still woke up early enough to make food for everyone. Aurora was a terrible cook herself, she would inhale anything that was edible, knowing how hard it could be at times in life to even get a proper meal. But even so, she always appreciated an artist who worked their craft. And there was no one who knew food like mother Ceris.
Aurora made her way down from the third floor. Slowly through the press of bodies, the good mornings and cheerful smiles as she passed. She stepped agilely to the side as a pair of twins, no older than 10 or so they believed, ran past her screaming as they fought over a toy while still managing to keep from falling over. Aurora slowly repeated the names of each child that she passed with a smile. The stairs creaked under her bare feet and the wind outside beat at the building making it groan ever so softly.
Mother Ceris was in the kitchen preparing eggs, toast, and the ever so tantalizing crispy bacon that had brought Aurora down. 3 long tables extended from the edge of the kitchen and through the dining hall, filled with excited and hungry children. Half of them were finishing up their meals, bringing the dishes and utensils back to the kitchen for the older ones to wash, while the other half were just beginning, eagerly digging into the meals and ready to take on the day.
Mother Ceris was an older woman. Well, older for a mortal woman, someone not touched by the gift of immortality. She was now in her 70’s with an aching back and slipping memory, yet she still did her best to help the children. She was always cheery, not letting even the worst of these little trouble makers pranks get on her bad side. Being the reason her smile fell would leave anyone feeling miserable and outcast in this house where she did so much.
Mother Ceris turned to Aurora and with a smile dipped in a small curtsey before handing Aurora a tray. Aurora raised a curios eyebrow at the second plate and cup set on the tray. Not that she minded carrying her friends food for her but normally Mother Ceris mothered Aurora endlessly and was always taking care of her, not the other way around. Noting Auroras confusion Mother Ceris nodded to the front sitting room.
“You’ve got a guest Mother”
Ah. Guests. Well that was fun. Food meant she was expected to be friendly at least. Wouldn’t waste their food on someone who treated themselves or the children badly. Quite a bit of food from the weight of the tray and amount piled up high. Mother Ceris liked this guest quite a bit then. That was a good sign. Aurora tended to get along with the same people as Mother Ceris, no reason to worry then. It was likely this meeting had nothing to do with the contract she had put out. No need to bother Mother Chris with darker thoughts. Now those were not the kind of people Mother Ceris would ever associate herself with. Different tools were needed for different tasks and you couldn’t start crying every time your hands got a little dirty. Aurora had been alive too long to have qualms with getting her hands dirty. Not anymore.
As she drew closer to the wall blocking her view of the sitting room Aurora noticed the steaming mugs on the tray as well. It was the smell that caught her attention. An earl gray tea with a rich sweet aroma. Oh she loved this tea! It was a specialty imported from the Kolarin Islands and very hard to come by. Then she felt as if her stomach dropped. The room suddenly felt cold and she felt sweat beading her forehead in seconds. Ceris would only serve this to keep Aurora calm. She had been doing just fine, why would Ceris want to calm her down?
The voices preceded Aurora as she turned the corner where Elizabeth Walker sat, a small child on her knee joyfully showing off her brand new doll to the visitor. Elizabeth was smiling as she looked down at the child, nodding and approving of the girls dramatic antics. Aurora felt as if the room had dropped by several degrees the minute she had recognized the voice. Liz had never done anything to make Aurora think that she would hurt children, but Aurora knew too much about her to ever be comfortable with the executioner handling a human life she was responsible. Stiffly walked across the carpeted floor, set the tray on the middle table hard, and picked the child off of Elizabeth’s lap with a frozen cold smile.
“Ariel, your bothering our guest”
Elizabeth smiled and shook her head, “It’s no bother at all”
Ariel lit up naively and waived her doll in the air around Auroras head, “See! And she likes Berta!”
Aurora took her to the hallway and pushed her towards the dining room, “Go get breakfast. Give the adults a moment to talk please.”
Ariel whined and complained but off she went, her voice slowly fading into the surrounding noise of a lively house.
“Mrs Walker,” Aurora said pushing the tray closer to Liz and she walked by and grabbed her mug of tea before sitting into a chair. She knew she was acting childish. But she didn’t know how to act around this woman. She inhaled the aroma deeply before taking a sip of her drink.
“We need to talk…..Mother” said Liz. The hesitation before the honorific was intentional. Liz had always been the strongest magic user out there, strong enough that she refused to bend and bow to traditions or titles that she had little respect for. It was one of the most infuriating things about the damn woman. Aurora had been alive for thousands of years. Trying to help people where she could, focusing on those to weak or young to care for themselves. But she didn’t always have the strength needed. Not like this woman sitting before her. Someone who could demand her way and then had the power to bulldoze through any opposition.
“Its been a long time since we’ve talked. Even for me. Remind me, you know memory isn’t one of our greatest strengths. If i recall our last talk end with a body on the ground”
Her memory was perfect, cracked and broken as her mind was she held the grudge close and kept it warm. They both knew it. Their last talk, over 20 years ago had ended in no less than 6 corpses and 4 others injured. Back then Aurora had been the one trying to kill a child. One child, in her entire existence that she knew without a doubt could not survive in this world without endangering everything they all held dear. Elizabeth had gotten in the way. Choosing to protect the baby against both the Guardian elders and the Nexus board, even going as far as to kill any who moved against him.
From what Aurora had heard, John was starting to show evidence of what she feared. Underneath the charismatic and handsome young man was the makings of a monster. Oh how it tore at her heart but she wished they could have spared the young baby’s innocence by not letting the magic turn him into something monstrous. Guardians had come in the night, telling them of the fight and of the demonic monster that John had turned into. When attempting to approach John after he collapsed Liz had interceded and after some arguing had gotten him transported to a Nexus base for treatment. Even now the guardian villages whispered and rumors were being spun. The Awakened had returned.
“Many of my conversations have ended with blood on my hands. A hazard of my life choices” said Liz unperturbed, “But I accept my choices. As someone who choose, im trying to keep as much blood off my nephews hand as possible.”
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Aurora scoffed, “You’re nephew? Well, if he were related to you it would make sense where he got it from. But we both know he comes from much more bloodthirsty stock than you. Much, Much worse than you.”
“His father is the reason I’m here.”
The air seemed to grow cold as the name sat like a bomb between the women.
“Gordon… not John”
“Yes though I do believe it relates to what you’ve been told about the fight last night “
“Fight?” Scoffed aurora again,“ he destroyed buildings and were lucky there weren’t more casualties. He’s a force of wild magic. Something that should never have been born. Gods help us should he ever burn out. Not even you could do anything then”
Liz’s eyes flashed at the mention of burning out. Yes the guardians had told aurora all they had seen. Including the black smoke that began rising from John as his magic and disappeared and the black veins wriggling beneath his skin. What more evidence could this woman need that this boy was unnatural. No one came back once they started to burn out.
“John did start to burn out, we think…. But he has recovered and is on the mend”
This got auroras attention. She’s expected Liz to lie or deflect any questions related to John and the incident that had taken place. Ah. It really was about Gordon then. For this woman to be so open in what had happened. She’s trying to move past it. It’s not the reason she came.
“You think Gordon did something to the boy.”
Liz nodded her head ,”I don’t know. Long before he moved in with us but it has to be the reason for Javier’s foretelling. John is not the cause of his misfortunes. Gordon is. He did something to the boy. I just don’t have any proof.”
Aurora just sat in silence , furious as her own memories of the vile man roared through her mind. A broken land and a shattered promise that had almost ended her entirely. She’d watched John grow up, her own biases poisoning the way she viewed a child of Gordon. After Liz’s intervention and Gordon’s disappearance from both the Nexus and Guardians she had grown to know the kind and passionate man that Liz had helped to raise. He cared for the people around him and did what he could to save whoever he could from their smallest troubles, the exact opposite of his sire.
“I warned you.” She hissed, “ I told you from the beginning. DO NOT TRUST HIM!”
They sat for a moment again in silence . Gordon had helped with the nexus before. Not really a member but willing to share his research . Aurora believed his real goal that time had been to access the different powers across the Nexus and guardian numbers. Aurora had been abroad in the countries of Kolarin and missing country name. Had she known of cordon’s presence so near the Guardian reservation she would have returned sooner. As it was he had mysteriously disappeared before she relocated. He was not a man to be trusted.
“So you think John could go the way of....Clara. “
Liz looked troubled, unusual for one so used to seeing deaths handiwork . But what they had found in Gordon’s lab after files were discovered to have been stolen. The fact that the girl had still been breathing when the found her was no kindness. She had died moments after discovery, as if in some sick joke for whoever would find her. Kept alive for the months it had taken to find out about the hidden labs.
“Is there any chance to figure out what was done ? “
“I don’t think it could hurt to try. My Daughter Clarissa might be able to help.” Liz seemed to brighten as she spoke of her eldest daughter. With good reason thought Elizabeth. The girl was a certifiable genius and the kind of childish imagination that slowly fell apart as the world carved adults out of them. Helping mankind learn and advance its understanding of the world around them was a noble pursuit.
Aurora always warmed at the thoughts of there still being mystery to the world. There were still things out there to be discovered yet. Even with all the lands of Erys having been explored there was more out there. They had divided up the lands into countries and regions but still this world held on to its surprises. It would be good for the girl to use all the resources at her disposal · Some of the guardians had used their powers in their everyday lives to become scientists and academics across the world. It gave them a different view point of the world. What little of it remained.
Aurora saw that Liz had kept Clarissa as far out of the magical world as she could, but Erys was magic. It was everything, it was the people and the objects and the souls. You couldn’t escape it no matter how you might deny it. John must be more important to her than Clarissa’s safety.
“Are you sure it’s worth bringing her into this ? We could make things worse.”
“It is” Swallowed Liz and Aurora knew she too was thinking of the painting. Nodding she said, “Shes the best I can think of. Can YOU think of anyone better than my daughter to figure out whatever it is Gordon did?”
Aurora heard the pleading in her voice and thought about it, but no. She couldn’t think of a single person in the entire world who could match Gordon in intelligence on the human body or on magic in general. Anyone else would be looking to Clarissa as the world’s leading standard.
“Will you help us with this ? “ asked Liz
“Why are you asking me? The council would be better equipped to receive your request?”
Liz looked over at the table where a half eaten cookie had been left by Ariela. Softly , almost where Aurora couldn’t hear Liz said, “Ariel mentioned hom you found her after the fire took her home and parents. How you cared for her and took her in when she had no one. How the fire had stolen her beauty and you gave it back. “
Aurora cursed inwardly. She thought Ariel knew better but maybe she was the one who should have known. Ariel was a child and keeping secrets is never something a girl her age should have to. The type of upbringing these children had would determine how they trusted others and what lengths they would go to when they were scared. Ariel had been horribly disfigured when Aurora had found here, close to deaths door and with burns across her entire body.
Throughout her long seemingly infinite life she had been something of a researcher herself. Her magic healed her, kept her young and healthy forever. When it was shared though, the magic kept to the blood. The magic was in the blood, and the casters will remained as well. This had lead to the invention of blood magic after the fall of Allan’s, when wild magic was destroyed. In the time of Allan’s, Erithium had been the sole source of magic from what little she could remember. She could not remember anything of Atlans itself, but the technology, some of those secrets still remained in the shadows of memory.
With the loss of Atlans, all the Erithium that had been hoarded was lost with the rest of the magical country. Lost with magic itself. Blood magic began filling the void left behind. With a transfusion of Auroras blood, Ariel had been healed The restorative powers temporary but very powerful. No scarring had been left behind. Her hair now in long flowing waves ,
“You know more about blood magic than anyone else alive” said Liz softly.
Not by choice thought Aurora.
“If John is to have an chance at all, hell need to get the best of the best to help. One of those is you. You know things none of us could”
“Zephyrus?”
“He acknowledges that he would defer to you. All the immortals do”
Aurora remained silent thinking. How could she ever help the son of that man. The man who had betrayed her and destroyed her world. It would have been better for them all had he died and taken his seed with him. She drank deeply from her cooling tea. No, she had turned her back on John once before, a babe’s face flashing in her mind. The phantom memory of a dagger gripped tightly in her palm as she struggled to act. She had watched the boy grow into a man. There was a passion buried in there that pushed him to help others in his own small way wherever he could. He always helped the Guardians people. Stopping by to visit frequently at the village and at the orphanage, years after he had returned from his time at war. He would often stop by to offer help with odd jobs here and there , asking for nothing in return. A man who cared for everyone else, regardless of who they were.
She remembered how she had heard of John stepping into an altercation between some young Guardian girls and a group of drunken Qorluna citizens. Though the girls had been infatuated with their savior for months after, he never took advantage or treated them dishonorably that Aurora could tell. Their attempts at flattery and gifts were politely refused whenever they managed to catch him within the village. He genuinely just wanted to help others. That was a rare magic indeed.
She couldn’t turn her back on him again. Not after a lifetime of proving her wrong with his every breath and action. He was still dangerous of course. There were still unexplained circumstances around the explosion and the deaths in the desert of Solara. But if Gordon was the cause of John’s misfortune, how could she force the blame onto an innocent soul?
Slowly, Aurora nodded, “I’ll help however I can.”
“Thank you” replied Liz visibly relieved .
Aurora could tell she meant it. The tension slowly left Liz’s shoulders and she smiled more easily than before. Aurora held up a hand. She paused and looked deep into the other woman’s eyes.
“I was wrong Elizabeth. Thank you.”
The other woman’s breath caught and her eyes began to well. She wiped her eyes quickly and composed herself. After a shaky breath she said again, quieter this time and nodded her head deeply.
“Thank you, Mother.”
They both looked around awkwardly for a moment. Unsure of what to say next. Aurora heard the screams from the fiasco currently encompassing the kitchen and smiled at Elizabeth.
“The children would like to thank him” “ She said.
The children had returned in the early morning hours after the attack. Many of the children had run crying into the arms of their waiting parents, or to the weeping form of Mother Cheri’s. Parents who had begun immediately filling the train station at the outskirts to the Guardian reservation when the cause of the destruction and commotion at the docks had been determined. Many of the children and even the parents were waiting for John’s next visit to the Guardian village to thank him for his actions, regardless of the damage that had occurred during the “rescue”.
“I’m so happy they are back safe. Aurora shook her head sadly, “Something like this never should have happened.
“Could this be Filious Vires? “ asked Elizabeth
Aurora shook her head concerned, “I don’t think so. The followers of Hasreth have been quiet for a long time. If they are active now, I’m not sure what they are trying achieve . Their focus has alway been the protection of magic’s exposure to the public.”
“So it could be someone acting independently.”
After a minute Liz asked, “ I assume Clayton is involved?”
Aurora nodded “Good.... that’s good. I’m worried this is going to get bad.”