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Ophelia slept and let the dreams carry her away. She perched in the trees. Safe. Like she belonged there. The rustle of green leaves, all the scent of Springtime. But she was alone, and something felt out of place. Her heart longed for more and she reached out. “Adrian?”
A whooshing blew through the trees very near and behind her, crackling with curiosity and delight.
Ophelia knelt on the great branch and turned, arm around the oaken trunk. “Adrian?”
A face appeared, as though emerging from water. Wavy brown hair tucked behind pointy ears, big brown eyes. He smiled on seeing her.
“You’re not Adrian.” Red hot feelings rushed through her and she waved her whole arm at him. “No!”
The face contorted as though struck by a fist and vanished just as quickly.
Ophelia wanted desperately to wake up as she searched the leafy branches. “Adrian?”
***
OPHELIA AWOKE STILL naked inside her bathrobe. She’d fallen into her bed and asleep right out of the shower.
And without getting any of her questions answered.
Daylight warmed her face.
A flapping of wings drew Ophelia’s attention to the window.
A barn owl, face and chest white, head and back golden and brown, lit upon a branch.
Ophelia narrowed her eyes at it. Brandon?
Nothing.
Brandon was dead. He was not immortal. Besides, he only knew how to do a raven.
Are you someone else? Another shapeshifter? Ophelia remembered the first barn owl, the one Adrian saw her staring at, the one he drew for her, and wondered if it was the same owl.
Nothing.
It’s just an owl...but a beautiful owl. Ophelia walked over to the window, but the owl did not fly away.
The owl looked up at her, as though waiting for something.
“Just a bird, right?” Bianca joined her.
“I...don’t know.” Ophelia immediately got the distinct impression the owl was insulted. It flew away in a flurry of gold and white feathers and a shower of snow from the branch. “Nothing seems like...just anything...anymore.”
“You’re not making a whole lot of sense.” Bianca returned to flop on her own bed. “Did you know Mrs. Cox was at the battle?”
“She was? No.” Ophelia wrapped her robe tight and went to find something to wear in her closet.
“She was the bear who destroyed Mr. Brynner.”
“What? Really?” Ophelia pulled out her ‘I Love Tribbles’ sweatshirt.
“Mrs. Langdon is a bear-shifter too, but Mr. Langdon has the Flu.” Bianca folded her arms behind her head and stared at the ceiling. “Mom says bear-shifters are the dominate supernatural creatures around here.”
Ophelia grabbed her bra. “Of course, our parents would have us babysat by bear-shifters. If any vampires came around when Mom and Dad weren’t home, Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Langdon would’ve ripped their heads right off.”
“And now they’re our favorite school teachers.” Bianca rolled onto her belly and propped her chin on her arms. “We have more allies than Grandma realizes.”
“Elves. Why the hell did we have to be elves? Why couldn’t we be Vulcans?” Ophelia eyed her Mr. Spock poster.
“Geek.” Bianca chuckled once, but it came in a choking sound.
Ophelia pressed her lips together and almost smiled, again. New tears warmed her face. Deep breath. She returned to her desk and opened Perdy’s journal.
“Good morning, Dr. Dawson.” Joseph’s voice carried through the heating vent.
Bianca rolled onto her side.
“Good morning, Mr. MacGregor.” Mom pulled out a chair for him, scraping the linoleum.
“I’ve come from the battle site.” Joseph’s considerable weight creaked the chair sitting down.
“Coffee?”
“Uh, no, thank you, doctor.”
Mom pushed out an audible breath. “Sorry. Forgot. You don’t look like Dracula.”
“Thanks. I’m posing as an FBI agent as part of cleaning up this incident. It’s necessary to keep everything a complete secret. The Elders would order the deaths of any humans who discovered the truth and we don’t have the numbers to protect them.”
“I...see.”
“I’ve questioned several townspeople and have no doubt the rumor will spread. Everyone knows Martin Brynner ran Trevor Wilkowsky off the road New Year’s, early morning. Attempted murder. The rumor will be the Brynners left town suddenly to avoid prosecution for that and other crimes, such as running your husband off the road.” Joseph tapped a finger on the table. “Vehicular homicide.”
“But what if someone tries to find out where they went?”
“The Brynners’ were living under a false identity. Who they really were is impossible to know, even for my kind. When they became Newbloods, their personalities completely changed, and they lost all interest in their previous lives as humans. They were driven to addiction and became monsters.”
Ophelia eyed his picture. Is that what’s happening to Adrian now?
Yes. I am sorry for your loss. Joseph’s deep voice offered no hope, but it was clear he meant to be comforting.
Ophelia cupped a hand over her mouth, faced her computer, and reached for the mouse. “I didn’t lose Adrian. He was taken from me.”
Bianca’s voice caressed her heart. “Adrian loved you so much.”
“I want him back.” Ophelia’s voice sounded like a growl in her own ears.
Please, come downstairs.
I don’t want to. She clicked on the YouTube icon and tried to ignore Joseph speaking to her thoughts.
Please.
“Fine.” Ophelia left her computer and stomped from the room.
Bianca got up and followed. “Where are you going?”
“Joseph wants to talk to me.” Ophelia went down the stairs, through the living room, and stopped in the archway. “What?” She folded her arms and leaned against the wall defiantly.
Joseph stood and settled a hand on the back of his chair. “I need to inform you of something, and I ought to inform you aloud in front of your family, as you will need their support.”
“What?”
Mom rose up, the ‘mama bear’ expression back in her eyes.
“Adrian is a Newblood now. He knows you’re a Sweet and he knows where you live.” Joseph looked at her mother and back at Ophelia. “Adrian has become a very great threat to you.”
Bianca stepped into the archway. “He wouldn’t. He loves her.”
“So did Martin,” said Mom. “Almost loved her to death.”
“The descent into madness is a certain path.” Joseph hesitated. “I must inform you that the Elder has ordered a hunt.”
“A hunt?” Bianca latched onto Ophelia.
Joseph addressed her mother. “Yes, he’s ordered Jean-Pierre to lead a hunt to destroy Adrian.”
“Adrian saved my life! And my soul.” Emotions reeling in black and gray, Ophelia turned to run back up the stairs, but Bianca wouldn’t let go.
“I felt it necessary to inform you because you must let him go for your own sake.” Joseph took the two steps to the back door. “It may be difficult for you to believe this, but I do understand your pain. I’ve outlived three wives in succession, and I am alone again. Grief can destroy you like nothing else.”
Mom folded her arms. “This family has a lot of grieving to do.”
“What about Brandon?” Ophelia jerked her arm free.
“He is an Oldblood with elven ability. The Malevolents will try to turn him to their cause. My children and I will free him as quickly as possible, I promise you.”
Ophelia remembered her grandmother saying she could bring Branden and Adrian, and even Perdy home herself.
“We ought to have this location secure by tomorrow, doctor.” Joseph gripped the doorknob. “I will return and update you.” He walked out, pulling the door closed after him.
Ophelia shoved her sister away and ran up the stairs.
A few minutes later, Bianca came into their bedroom and slumped on the floor next to Ophelia’s head hanging off her bed. “You need to eat.”
Ophelia rolled away. “Go away. Leave me alone.”
Bianca rubbed her elbow. “I can’t be okay if...” she sniffed “...if you’re not. Please?” She waved a snack bar in front of her nose. “Please, its chocolate-mint, your favorite, the kind Adrian always gave you.”
Ophelia grabbed the bar. It had been a long time since she’d eaten chocolate. She remembered Brandon and the Twinkies.
Bianca waited, face wet. “Go ahead, take a bite.”
“You’re going to watch?”
Bianca’s lower lip trembled.
Ophelia took a bite. And her gaze was drawn to her sister’s sewing machine, silent. “We have to go back to school tomorrow.”
“So? Eat.” Bianca opened the little carton of milk.
“Have you put together our outfits yet?”
Bianca shook her head and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Here, drink this.”
Ophelia sat up and lifted the milk carton to her lips. All through this, she kept designing and sewing and it saved her. Now, she can’t. She’s dying inside.
Bianca tilted her head, eyes wide. “You’re going to be all right? Aren’t you?”
Ophelia wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Yeah, if...if you’ll do one more thing for me.”
“Sure. What?”
“Sew me a new blouse.”
Bianca ran a finger under her nose, sniffling. “Um, okay, like what...what kind?”
“Like Rose’s dress on Titanic when she first kissed Jack, only purple.”
Bianca got up and went to rummage through her heap. “I...I think I have some purple velvet panne I was saving for Mom’s birthday.”
Ophelia spotted a picture frame’s corner sticking out from under her dust ruffle. She ran a finger over the edge and took it out.
Martin’s image smiled up at her, Martin before the fall, back when he was the most adorable boy she’d ever seen.
“Now what? You sighed.”
Ophelia raised her head and watched her sister digging through a box of dress patterns. “Boys really do turn into freakin’ lunatics when they kiss me.”
“Brilliant observation, Einstein. What do you do for an encore? Gargle peanut butter?” Bianca had painted over the dressmaker dummy’s bite marks. Instead, it wore a small crucifix on a garlic wreath.
Someone knocked on the kitchen door.
Ophelia rolled her head over in her pillow and wiped her jammy sleeve over her wet eyes.
A kitchen chair scraped across the linoleum and Mom said, “Good morning, Tristan, good to see you.”
A little woofing sound caused Bianca to drop her pin cushion and run.
Ophelia chased her down the stairs. By the time she sprang into the archway, her sister was wresting a puppy out of Tristan’s arms.
Bianca cooed and snuggled the puppy.
Tristan backed against the wall like he was afraid of accidentally touching any of them.
The new puppy resembled Kiska, except for being a girl.
“She’s adorable.” Ophelia walked over.
The puppy wriggled out of Bianca’s arms and right into hers.
Ophelia welcomed the puppy slobber all over her face. “Oh, I love you, too, but my goodness.”
Tristan shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “When I told people your dog got ran over a couple of nights back, they said to head over to the McDaniels’ because their dog had puppies.” He nodded to the pup. “That’s Kiska’s daughter.”
Bianca petted her. “Oh, what are we going to name her?”
“Kiska2.” Ophelia kissed the puppy nose.
“Perfect.”
“Kiska2.” Mom ruffled the puppy ears.
“Oh, dog.” Bianca dropped her forehead on Mom’s shoulder.
A beat-up old Ford Ranger truck parked outside the kitchen window.
“Grandma’s here.” Ophelia headed for the door. “Come on.”
“Wear a coat.” Bianca grabbed their jackets from the hooks. “We don’t want humans to see us out there and think we’re weird.”
“Oh, good grief.” Ophelia caught her coat and thrust her arms into the sleeves. “I think that boat sailed a long time ago.”
Grandma wore a pale blue parka that made her look like a parade float balloon. She stood in the center of the front yard, wrinkled face lifted slightly, smiling as though soaking in the sparkling winter. “I have your birthday presents.” She held up to tiny black velvet boxes.
“Presents!” Bianca grabbed hers and yanked it open. “Ooh, Grandma, it’s so beautiful.”
Ophelia studied Bianca’s red stone and silver necklace as she accepted her box. She opened to find an identical necklace, but her silver pendent held a passionately purple stone. “An amethyst?”
The garnet was their birthstone, for January.
“Yes, dear, it’s question-and-answer time.” Grandma lifted the necklace out and placed it around her neck. “To begin with, neither of you were born on January 17th.”
Ophelia touched the cold metal on her throat, tingling and sparkles excited her senses.
“Huh?” Said Bianca.
“You were born at 11:58 p.m.” Grandma took Bianca’s silver garnet gift around her neck. “On January 31st.”
“Oh, it gives me the piss-shivers.” Bianca touched the red stone.
“Ophelia, you were born at 12:01 a.m. on February 1st.”
“Awesome. Now we don’t have to share birthday parties anymore.” Bianca bounded after the puppy. “Come and check out the doghouse.” She hoisted the fluffy creature up and carried it to a little red structure. “Me and Dad built it a couple of years ago, but Kiska never liked it.” She got down on her hands and knees and put the puppy in.
Kiska2 sniffed it, turned around, and leapt back into Bianca’s arms and licked her face.
“Like this.” Bianca woofed and crawled into the doghouse.
“Bowen called you ‘Auntie’ because...” Grandma watched Bianca “...he’s the second elf in five thousand years to be born with the fortitude for Time Travel. He inherited the ability from his mother.”
“Time...Travel?” Ophelia stared at her sister now flapping her hands like puppy ears and wagging her head back and forth. “You mean Bianca’s a...or going to be a...a Time Traveler?”
And Bowen was her son. From the past. And the other elf was his father, Bianca’s future husband.
“Ooh, crap.” Ophelia swallowed hard, trying to wrap her brain cells around it. “But...but...Bianca flunked World History. Twice.”
“Fate has a sick sense of humor, doesn’t she?” Grandma chuckled. “Meanwhile, you were born to be the Ice Princess, after your father, and succeed me as Queen of the Borean Realm one day.”
“I’m going to throw up. Seriously.” Ophelia turned aside and cupped a hand over her mouth.
“Your destined mate responded to my death cry, as well, but you’ve grown entirely too perceptive for your age. I forbade him to draw near.” Grandma pulled her into a side hug. “I can only hope he obeyed. He’s a bit of a rogue.”
“But...you didn’t even meet Adrian.”
Grandma didn’t seem to hear. “I suspect your human DNA caused you to mature more quickly than is typical for elves.”
Ophelia picked apart those words in her mind and thought of Adrian, now considered such a terrible threat. “What’s the Borean Realm?”
“The geographic area from Iceland, where we are still revered as the Huldufolk, across Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and parts of Germany and Poland.” The corners of her eyes dragged down into a sorrowful expression. “Of course, most of my people are scattered all over this world, their abilities diminished by centuries of intermarriage with humans.”
“So...you’re racist against humans?”
“On the contrary! We owe humanity a great debt. It was only through marriage with them that our race has endured.” Grandma shrugged one shoulder and surveyed the snowy neighborhood through drawn eyes. “It is the natural order of things.”
“You’re talking about evolution, as in Charles Darwin.”
“Such a nice boy. Never thought he’d raise such a ruckus with his cute little book.” Grandma smiled in a faraway manner.
“Charles Darwin was a nice boy with a cute little book?” Ophelia tried to take her necklace off for a closer look, but it weighed heavily in her fingers. “What the—?”
“Oh, those necklaces don’t come off, dear,” said Grandma, tiredly. “Ever.”
“Huh?” Ophelia blinked at her sister’s red stone pendent catching the light.
Mom stepped off the back porch, wrapped up in her old ski jacket.
“Deborah’s healing instincts fortified Bianca’s elven abilities, you know.” Grandma continued the information session. “That’s why your sister could heal her mother’s injuries after battle, even though she hasn’t come of age yet.”
“But, wait.” Ophelia glanced at her mother, coming to join the family hug. “I’m the youngest after all. So, how can I be, you know, the heir?”
“You’re still thinking like a human.” Grandma held out her arms for Kiska2 to run and leap in. “You were born in February, like me and your father. That makes you the next queen.”
“Of course, silly me.” Ophelia let her mother pull her head to shoulder.
“Your father was born on February 2nd. He would have been a wonderful king.” Mom’s voice brimmed with dreams unmet. “He was always a good prince to me.”
“Ophelia, you will find Brandon, Adrian, and Perdy one day.” Grandma draped an arm around her back. “It is your destiny to find those of our kind and bring them home. There are so few of us left in this world.”
“This world.” Ophelia choked out the words, warm in her matriarchs’ embrace. “All my life...I’ve wondered about other worlds and the creatures who might live there. It never occurred to me that they might be so close to...home.”