The sun was setting as Ayalet walked in the front door of her Aunt’s house. Her feet were sore and she was in desperate need of a shower. She had taken her sweet time hiking, so it had taken her a couple days to arrive back in town at her aunt’s house. She could smell pizza wafting in from the living room. Her stomach gurgled with hunger, it was doubtful her aunt bought enough for the both of them. What was she going to do for food? As she turned the corner leading to her room, her stomach dropped. There sat Lilith smiling and chatting with her Aunt Krista as if they were old friends.
Ayalets blood froze in her veins while her chest ached from the pounding of her heart. Dear God was she having a heart attack? Her heart was suddenly beating so fast it felt as if it would jump out of her chest. She felt herself sweating profusely while her body turned to ice. What WAS Lilith doing here? What should she do? Who knew how long it would be before Zack returned; days maybe. The room suddenly felt too small and shrinking with each passing second. Suddenly, there wasn’t enough air in the room as she struggled to breathe. How could she let him know Lilith was here? She could be killed and he would never know what happened. Should she run? Could she outrun Lilith? Was it even worth trying to run? She looked around the now unfamiliar room, trying to find some quick way out.
As the questions ran through her head, her aunt’s voice broke through, “Ayalet, where have you been?” Ayalet stood there in silence, her eye’s refused to leave Lilith’s face. Lilith took a sip of her tea as her eyes stared up at Ayalet over the brim of the cup. As they stared in silence, a slow smile crept up one side of Lilith’s mouth. Dear God, Lilith was going to kill her! Ayalet went to turn toward the door. If she sprinted, maybe just maybe she could get away. But where would she go? Where was safe from Lilith?
“Where do you think you’re going, young lady? You haven't even introduced yourself and you can obviously see I have a guest. Oh and while you were gone… whatever it is you do. . . a young man stopped by the other day asking where you were. I am not your secretary, child.” Ayalet stood frozen in place as her aunt spoke. Her aunt sipped loudly from her tea cup before it clinked back into the coaster. Who stopped by? And did she just call her child? She was 17, not a child!
“Ayalet, are you listening to me?” The agitation was clear in her aunt’s voice as she tried to keep her facade up in front of her guest. Anger was slowly replacing the fear and shock of seeing Lilith. The ice in her veins was melting away as her body tightened with fury. The damn woman was treating her like an incompetent child while not even realizing the danger she was in.
Ayalet felt her hands clench at her sides as she controlled her breathing. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm down before responding, “Sorry, I told you I was going camping. Who stopped by?” She fought her body’s reaction to punch her aunt in the face and take off. Sorry, not sorry. It wasn’t her fault that her aunt never listened to a word she said. Sudden fear and worry of Lilith overtook her, forcing her to open her eyes again to make sure her life wasn’t in danger. A small speck of relief overcame her as she found Lilith in the same spot, sipping on her tea.
“Honestly you spend too much time in those woods. The boy said his name was Jaison.” Her aunt's voice picked up a decibel. “Ayalet, it is rude to speak to someone and not look them in the eye.” Ayalet felt anger well up in her gut. In answer, she turned her eye’s toward her aunt not attempting to hide her fury. Krista jerked back as if slapped. Finally, her aunt stopped talking.
She needed to get out of the room and away from the both of them. She couldn’t deal with her aunt as it was, let alone a monster like Lilith making everything worse. Lilith was unpredictable and who knew when she would attempt to hurt her? As she went to take a step towards her room, the old ugly vase just inches from her arm fell and shattered on the floor. What happened? She looked down at the vase in shock, she hadn’t touched it. She turned her head to look back and found Lilith smiling, her hand lifted in a small wave. Did Lilith cause the vase to fall? God Damn her!
“Ayalet! Tantrums are unladylike and immature. Clean up that mess! I can not believe you just broke my vase. I expect you to pay me back for what it’s worth you unappreciative child. All I’ve done for you over the years and this is how you treat me.” So much for her aunt keeping quiet. . . Again, Ayalet felt the anger rise in her body. Years of repressed anger bubbled up to the surface. She tried to control the volcano of emotions rising with some slow breathing and found it was only making things worse. Instead of slow, her breath was coming out in short, quick movements. Her vision began to shrink until all she saw was her aunts face.
“What? What have you done for me? The only thing you’ve done for me is provide a roof over my head, barely. You don’t feed me, you don’t treat me as family. All you do is criticize me and treat me like shit. You treat me as if I’m a tenant in an apartment. I’m surprised you don’t charge me rent. All I am and all I’ve ever been is a burden in your eyes; just an inconvenience that haunts your house. You just pretend to care in public so everyone will think you’re kind, but it’s all just for show.” As she ranted at her aunt, she saw a small dog toy lift from the ground and travel across the room. It flew past her aunt’s head and into a large picture of her dog, shattering the glass. God damn Lilith. Or. . was that her own power? Either way.. Lilith seemed to be becoming a thorn in her side that she had to be highly aware of. The woman seemed as if she didn’t need to physically move or do anything to cause chaos.
Her aunt’s face turned red with anger and shock. “Why, you ungrateful little… how dare you.” Her aunt stood up breathing heavily in an attempt to keep some kind of composure in front of her guest. If you could even call Lilith a guest. “First you disrespect me.. in front of a guest no less, then you break my vase and violently threaten me by throwing my belongings at me.. You ungrateful brat!” Her aunt slammed her hand down on the table beside her and pointed toward the door, “Get out of my house.”
Ayalet’s anger exploded out of her. She was done, so very done with her aunt. She was a delusional selfish witch. The noises seemed to ring in her ears, the colors around her seemed to turn a shade of red. Out of the corner of her vision she could see Lilith sipping from her mug looking smug, almost giddy. Pure rage rose up in Ayalet like she had never known, the air around her began to vibrate. Ayalet closed her eyes and covered her ears in an attempt to shut it out when a loud piercing screech came out of nowhere and everywhere all at once before shattering the glass in the room. Was that noise coming out of her mouth? What was happening? Suddenly, the shattered glass turned to sand and filled the room as if it were fog. Ayalet glanced over at Lilith to find her sitting still on the couch, staring intently at Ayalet with her mouth softly closed in a half smile. The shrieking faded to a whisper before disappearing entirely. Shock at the shattered glass caused Ayalet to stand frozen in place, her anger sizzling out to confusion. Slowly, the forms of Krista and Lilith faded into the background. What had she done? How had she done that? Was she even sure it had been her? Her aunt’s voice still echoed as she shrieked, “What is going on?! Lily, I am so sorry about this. I don’t understand what is happening.”
The name echoed in Ayalets head, Lily. Ayalet stumbled away, needing to get out of the room. She needed a moment of silence to herself, away from those two. As she walked into her room, she heard Lilith purr from the other room, “It’s no trouble at all, we can’t always control how children act. Some are just bad eggs.” Ayalet turned to her bed and started stuffing her things into her pack angrily. If she was fast, maybe she could get out before Lilith came after her. Maybe Lilith was like a vampire and had to be invited into a house before entering? If so, her parent’s house might be safe. She stuffed everything important she could fit into her backpack and turned straight into Liliths predatory face, “Off so soon?” Ayalet felt her heart jump out of her chest in shock and fear as her body froze in place. She felt like a small rabbit about to be eaten by a fox.
Ayalet threw her hands up in defense and a wave of wind shoved Lilith back a few steps. Again Lilith made a purr-like chuckle, it disturbed her as shivers ran up her body, “I see you’ve learned a few new tricks. How cute. You should get better control of your emotions or you’ll be no fun. Too easy. And I like to play with my toys before I throw them away.”
She had to get control of her emotions. She needed to get away from Lilith and her aunt, NOW. Shaking from frustration and fear, Ayalet shoved past Lilith as she moved down the hall towards the door, slamming it behind her. She’d have to come back for the rest of her stuff eventually, but she would have to do that when her aunt wasn’t home.
Turning sharply back toward her aunt's house, she found a dark form waving slowly from the doorway. Lilith. Fear forced Ayalet to turn and run with all her might. Her hearing became hypersensitive as she attempted to listen for anything following her. Unfortunately, all she could hear was buzzing as she sprinted away.
As she ran, Ayalet felt her fear slowly dissipate. Feeling safer, she risked a look backward to find empty air and luckily no Lilith. Her relief was so overpowering she stumbled and fell to the ground as her legs gave out. Heaving a big sigh, she felt herself calm down as she sat on the ground, her body trembling. Suddenly she felt warmth run down her cheeks, as tears hit the dusty earth road. The aftershocks of adrenaline and fear slowly faded with the shaking. Still feeling a bit uneasy with the worry Lilith could still come after her, she pushed herself off the ground and started walking towards home on shaky legs.
What had just happened at her aunt’s? Was her aunt safe with Lilith there? She definitely resented her aunt and possibly even hated her but she was still her only blood relative, and most likely an innocent bystander with this whole elemental thing. Ayalet felt utterly confused as she walked toward her parent’s house. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder. Dear god, hopefully she didn’t forget anything important, though just about everything that held any value to her she left at her parents for safe keeping. But just in the off chance her aunt or Lilith destroyed her room in retaliation. She couldn't help going through a mental checklist of important items; she definitely didn't want Lilith getting her hands on anything of value to her. Lilith, the thought of her spread goosebumps up her arm. How did she know her aunt? Had Lilith been stalking her? Was she watching her now? She wished Zack was there as she looked around nervously.
All encompassing relief almost brought her to the ground again as she looked up at her parent’s house. Home. As she raised her hand to unlock the door, she found her hands were still shaking. She actually had to use her left hand to steady her right to get the key in the lock and turn the knob. Turning the handle, she swiftly opened the door, slipped inside and let her body relax. A loud thump echoed in the room causing her to jump out of her skin. Scanning the room cautiously, she found nothing out of place or anyone else inside. Looking down she found her backpack had simply fallen to the ground. Hysterical laughter escaped her mouth as she leaned against the door trying not to fall again.
She was fine, everything was fine. Well, not everything but she was okay and she was finally done with feeling miserable at her aunt's house. After getting her breathing and laughter under control again she pushed from the door. She hadn’t even taken two steps before she jerked back around and quickly locked the door. Just in case. . .
Breathing a sigh of relief, she walked into the kitchen. She opened the cupboard and found the thought of food made her feel sick. She’d eat later when her stomach was under better control. Though food maybe wasn’t a good idea, maybe some tea would help her calm her nerves a bit. She grabbed the silver tea kettle off the stove and filled it. While listening to the water echo into the pot an image of crows guarding the gates from Yelena’s visions flashed in her head. Those would be nice to have guarding the house, she thought to herself as she placed the kettle on the stove and clicked the gas on.
Ayalet walked up the stairs before glancing down the hallway toward her parent’s room. The wind blew outside causing the tree outside the window to move, blinding her with sunlight. Shielding her eyes, she turned into the room her mother used to use as an art studio. Ayalet rarely went into the room let alone thought about it. Most of her old paintings were covered with white sheets. As she passed by covered paintings on easels, she resisted the urge to sneeze from the dust moving in the air. She held her nose but failed as the sneeze escaped. With the sneeze, a breeze blew all the sheets off the paintings. She doubted she’d ever get used to these strange powers.
Gathering up the sheets, she walked from one painting to the next. Her fingers glided over the edges of each, remembering the times she watched her mother bring life to the empty canvases. Every stroke of the paintbrush displayed. Micro peaks and valleys felt with the fingers from the layers of paint to create textures and depth to each piece. It’d been years since Ayalet had looked at her mother’s beautiful work. She had forgotten how every painting made her feel like she could just fall into a different world. When she was little it had always been a little intimidating to think about, but now…. it wouldn't be a bad thing, to escape the world for a short while. Nearest the window, was a half finished painting. In front of it sat a small chair. Walking over she sat down and looked out the window. The window looked over her garden, out beyond the trees blew in the wind. Again the branches in front of the window blew to the side. Tilting her head downward, she shielded the light from her eyes with her hand.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
It was then that she noticed a shadowed rectangle at the bottom corner of the painting. When the branches replaced their position in front of the window, the rectangle disappeared. In curiosity, she gingerly lifted the painting in front of the window. The shadowed spot returned causing her to turn the painting around to find a small envelope taped to the back of the canvas. Cautiously, she pulled the envelope in hopes to not damage the painting and found it pulled away with no resistance.
On the front was written ‘My dearest Aya’, in her mother's hand. Her throat closed up with tears. Had this been there the whole time? Dare she read the letter? What did it say?
Slipping her fingers into the crease, she opened the envelope before pulling out a small grouping of folded papers. At the top of the first page, in her mother's handwriting again she found the repeated words that had been on the envelope. She reread the first line a dozen times in her head, imagining her mother talking in her soft, melodic voice.
Taking a breath to calm her heart, she started to read from the beginning again, forcing herself to keep reading.
‘My dearest Aya,
If you are reading this, we have departed this world. It breaks our hearts that you will grow up without us around to be there for you. I wish we didn’t have to go but this was our fate. We’ve enjoyed everyday with you as if it were our last. As I sit here writing to you, your father is attempting to put you to bed. You are so excited for your 9th birthday. Nine. Nine years is all I get to spend with you. It is not enough time. I wish with all my heart I was able to be there for your first day at high school, first boyfriend, your first heartbreak, your first prom night, your graduation. We need to teach you how to drive, help you study for tests, help you decide on your future career. It scares me thinking about all you’ll go through without us to be there for you.
A week before our journey, both your father and I had a dream from a woman, Yelena. She claimed to be your past life and that she bore a sorrow we must face. She claimed she had foreseen this night and that you would lose control of your powers. She didn’t know why, just that she wanted to give us a bit of a warning. We wish we had known sooner that we were going to be leaving to better prepare you for a world without us.
We did our best with what time we had to set everything in order for us to leave you. With this letter you will find the deed to this house for you. The house is signed in your name and is yours as long as you want it. You have access to a trust fund from the day of our departure but you will not be able to access the full inheritance until you are 18. Your father had a large amount of money he inherited from his parents and from what we saved up for you over the years. You will not have to worry about money while you figure out the twists and turns of life. .
Honestly, we don’t fully understand what exactly is going to happen. Yelena called it the power of souls and that your ability would send us to another plane with all the other seraphs and maras. Sweetheart, know we love you and do not want you to blame yourself for this. You had no more control over it then we did. It was going to happen no matter what.
Darling, please know we did not want to go. It broke us to pieces knowing you’d be without us for so many moments in your life. All we wanted to do when we awoke was run into your room and hold you close. Yelena warned us that we couldn’t tell you because it would change your future and what needs to happen.
Unfortunately my sweet daughter, you will go through many hardships; all beginning the night we must leave you. The pain and anguish you will go through will be unbearable and torturous. How it pains me to know there is nothing I can do to alleviate the struggles you will face. There will be light at the end of all this and what will come to pass will bring a beautiful future. Stay strong and open your heart to the world around you.
Do not be afraid to make friends. Let people in and share that beautiful heart you have. If you run into trouble, use that brilliant brain and your common sense. You can figure out how to get through anything.
You will relive 6 pasts in order to reach your future, to live up to your full potential. The weight that falls upon your shoulders is beyond anything I can imagine. No mother could ever want their child to go through what you will in life.
Never doubt our love for you. We never wanted to leave you but it was beyond our power to control. To give you comfort, we will not feel any pain upon our departure. You have a great power inside of you that will take time to learn. I hope one day, you gain control over your powers so that maybe we might meet once more.
Always hold onto the memories we made together. Enjoy life and all of the wonders around you. Don’t be scared to try new things and be yourself. You are our shining star and never let anyone make you feel less.
You will do great things in your life. Never let fear make decisions for you. Fly, fly as high as your wings will let you and never give up!
All our love to the stars and back,
Mom and Dad.’
Ayalet was overwhelmed with bittersweet sadness, her throat tight with tears. Her heart was unbearably heavy in her chest as she held the letter close. As she remembered her mother and father, a wail escaped her throat past the tightness. The more she wiped away the tears, the more they pooled out of her.
As she continued to cry out, she heard footsteps running up the stairs. Instantly, her heart jumped out of her chest. Lilith? Her tears momentarily stopped as she juggled what she could do if Lilith had decided to come into her house? “Ayalet?!” Relief overwhelmed her at the sound of Zack’s voice as the tears began flowing again.
Zack, how she’d missed him. As she rose from the chair to meet him, her knees gave out. She crumpled to the ground as Zack turned the corner and dove for her. His arms pulled her in as he crushed her in a hug. “What happened? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
She struggled to take a breath between the sobs. Seeming to understand, Zack just ran his hand over her hair as he rocked her. After a few moments of heavy crying she scooted away from him and handed him the letter.
As he silently read the letter from her parents, she remembered what happened earlier at her aunt’s. He needed to know and she was not looking forward to his reaction. Ayalet was not excited to see angry Zack again but she needed to tell him what happened at her aunt's house. “Zack. . .”
He turned toward her, “Yeah?” She got up and walked away, needing to look away before continuing. He was NOT going to be happy. After calming down a bit, she walked back over and sat back down. Leaving a bit of distance just in case.
She pursed her lips and turned away to relieve her nerves a bit, “I saw Lilith again. She was at my aunt’s house.” She looked up to find a very stern look on his face, he remained quiet as she explained. “She… didn't touch me, but I felt so unlike myself, I got so scared and angry. My aunt and I argued like we’ve never argued before. She kicked me out. I’m not unhappy about that, it’s just I’ve never felt so angry before. All Lilith was doing the whole time was smiling at me and looking like a cat playing with a mouse. Even though she didn’t do anything I just know the whole thing was her fault. Something weird happened. There was this piercing sound that shattered the glass in the house then some kind of fog materialized in the room. Maybe you’ve heard something about it. I didn’t know what was going on.”
As Zack let out a long breath he scooted over to her and began rubbing her back. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I don’t really know what happened to you; maybe the wind was trying to protect you?” Suddenly Ayalet’s stomach let out a long low rumble causing them both to laugh. “Why don’t we make some food then we can go outside and enjoy the day. It’s so nice out right now, it might make you feel better.” They walked into the kitchen as the tea kettle began to whistle.
Ayalet laid out in the sun, hoping the heat would dry the tears from her eyes. To her side, Zack watered her plants. Didn’t he know it’s not good to water the plants mid-day. He was going to burn the leaves. Somewhere nearby she heard a thudding sound. Was someone working in their yard?
She looked over at Zack who seemed oblivious to the sound as he wove the water through the air to sprinkle onto the plants. She laid her head back onto the impressioned grass and let the sun warm her.
“Ayalet?” She turned to Zack to find the water frozen midair. He wasn’t looking at her but past her. What was he looking at? Curious, she too turned to find Jaison at the edge of her house causing her heart jumped into her throat.
Jaison was staring past her, his body locked tight. She heard a loud splash of water. Looking back she found Zack still in the same position but the water was no longer in the air. Shit. Had Jaison seen Zack?
Jaison seemed to tilt his body away from them. Slowly getting up, Ayalet opened her mouth to speak but no words seemed to form. What would she say to him? What could she say to explain the water?
As if her thoughts summoned his gaze, Jaison’s eyes locked onto hers. Suddenly he was rushing toward her, placing his body between hers and Zacks. He moved so quickly she barely registered as his left hand outstretched next to her body pushing her further behind him as he turned towards Zack, “What are you?”
Jaisons back was so warm as he took a step away from Zack, pushing her along with him. His scent overwhelmed her senses, honey and cedar. She felt butterflies tingle in her belly and sizzle her nose. She remembered their last meeting which caused her to bite her bottom lip softly. As he stood close, a gust of wind pushed her forward into him. Inwardly she grumbled. She hadn’t wanted to do that. Had she? Their kiss last time had confused her but as much as she wanted to deny it; some part of her wanted to kiss him again.
She glanced around Jaisons form to find Zack, statue still as his focus remained on Jaison. It took seconds for Jaison to stick his arm out and push her back behind him. His arms were so long and defined. The breeze blew and his honeyed scent made her feel dizzy and disoriented. Seriously, what did he bathe in?! Why did she want him so badly? She never looked at any other man this way before and she couldn’t stop herself even if she tried. And she’d been trying. . .
Again, Jaisons voice broke through the silence, “I asked you a question! Now, what are you?” It took her a moment to realize he hadn’t been asking her the question.
Shrugging, Zack finally spoke, “Not human if that’s what you wanted to know.” He took a step forward. Jaison leaned his upper torso into Ayalet while his legs and hips jerked a bit. What was Jaison doing?
She glanced down to find his legs had been frozen to the ground. Jaisons voice came out deep and anxious, “What did you do to me?” Zack had frozen Jaisons legs to the ground. Jaison now had cold feet.
She couldn’t help it when a small chuckle sounded from her in reaction to her own joke. Jaison turned to her as she bent down. She didn’t want his feet frozen like that. Maybe if she warmed the air around his feet. . .
Ayalet felt a soft breeze tickle her cheek as the air thickened with humidity. The ice beaded around his feet, soaking his shoes as the ice melted away. She was beyond happy with herself, she had controlled the wind to do her bidding successfully. Glancing up she found Jaison looking down at his feet confused before he looked up into her eyes. Shock and a bit of fear reflected back at her. “Ayalet… what.. what did you just do?”
She stood up abruptly and stepped away before tilting her head to the ground. She didn’t like that look in his eyes. Zack came running up to her, “Ayalet! Great job! Did you do that on purpose?” She didn’t feel as proud of herself with Jaison looking at her the way he was.
She found it difficult to answer Zack’s question. How could he be excited with how Jaison was reacting? She almost felt ashamed of what she had done. Zack went to reach for her shoulder and she pulled away.
Zack's arm froze in mid air. Ayalet looked up to find that Zack's eyes were filled with hurt. Oh no. She hadn’t meant to hurt Zack as well. She reached for him but couldn’t make herself move the last foot to reach him. Jaison was still next to her. What should she do? She probably shouldn’t even be with Jaison. She wasn’t even human so what right did she have to be with him?
Ayalet felt a desperate need to get away when suddenly a vortex of wind surrounded her. It shook the trees nearby and kicked up dust from the road. Her clothes slapped around on her body, stinging her skin. Not again. She couldn’t be losing control of her powers again, not twice in one day. She closed her eyes in an attempt to shut off her fear and found only images of Jaison and Zack. Her breathing seemed to freeze as she felt the need to run again. No no no. She needed to fight the urge to distance people. She had to let people in like her mother said. But dread of losing others continued to creep in.
The wind seemed to pick up speed and a yelp echoed from her left. Turning she found Zack had been knocked over by a branch. No! Had she hurt him? Not Zack. Worried about him she tried to escape the vortex only to get pushed back. She tried to bang her hands against the sides only to find that the edges of the whirlwind expanded outward as if breathing.
In the screaming wind, she heard a whisper of her name. Turning, she found Jaison was walking slowly toward her. No, he was going to get hurt. She shook her head desperately, trying to beg him to go away. At the thought, he was shoved backward. No, not him too. Not both of them. Covering her eyes with her knuckles, she tried to block out the outside world as she let herself fall to the ground. The screaming sound grew louder as it pierced the air like needles.
Again she heard Jaison yell her name. She shook her head, begging him to leave her alone when the wind seemed to be pushed backward where Jaison stood. She jerked her head up and found Jaison diving for her, his arms encircling her.
Suddenly, the vortex seemed to vanish as if it never happened. “You’re okay. Shhh.” Jaisons hands ran down her head, face and sides. Checking her for injuries. All she found she could do was cry. She could have hurt him. Hurt Zack.
Jaison’s touch sizzled against her back before a spark of electricity shot between her shoulder blades then up to her head. Her body shivered in reaction to his touch as she felt her mind darken with images.