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Authors: Doris O'Connor
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inspections she had to endure over the course
of the next few days. She was assessed mentally and physically by a seeming
army of Athuron scientists, until Macie wanted to
scream that she wasn't a fucking guinea pig. She didn't, of course. For
starters Kaylom's life quite literally hung in the
balance, and besides, everyone was perfectly polite and considerate.
Everywhere
she went folks stared and treated her like some form of royalty, which was
rather disconcerting. What was even harder to take was the sheer opulence of
her surroundings. Arich was one of the Athuron's most respected elders, and Kaylom was his only son.
Under
the circumstances Macie wouldn't have blamed him if he'd sent her packing back
to the human realm, or at the very least, would have been pissed off with her.
Instead he scoured the old texts for a precedent and came home every evening
looking more and more haggard. Lycille worried about
him, yet she never once lost her sunny disposition, and regaled Macie with
tales of Kaylom's childhood that made her sides hurt
from laughing so much.
The Athurons ’ world was fascinating, but it wasn't home,
and with each day that passed Macie worried more. About Kaylom ,
her parents, and her practice, too. Lord only knows what her parents must be
thinking about her absence. They would be going insane with worry.
The
evening before Kaylom's date for trial everything got
on top of Macie. Sitting in the sumptuous gardens of Arich and Lycille's mansion she threw stones in the pond.
One hit the water nymph statue straight in the face, and the statue shattered
into a gazillion pieces, and it shattered her resolve, too.
"Fuck
it." Macie screamed and ran full pelt into the hard, immovable wall that
was the body of Arich .
"Where
do you think you're running to, little one?"
Macie
pummeled his chest, too far gone to care about the fact that she was hurting
him, or the fact that his guards were once again surrounding him.
"Let
me go, damn you. I wanna go home. I don't belong
here. This is useless. Just let me go."
Arich pulled her into
a fierce hug and simply held her while she soaked his front with useless tears,
until she had none left. He handed her a silk handkerchief, and she blew her
nose noisily.
"Better?"
he asked, and she nodded.
"Sorry,
it just all…"
"Got
on top of you, I understand. To be honest I'm surprised you have not broken
down before. Lycille was right. Kaylom chose well." He nudged her chin up to study her face and smiled down at
her.
"You
won't be saying that when they decide to execute him." She sniffed her
tears away, and he shook his head.
"That
won't happen. I came here to tell you, I found what I was looking for."
That
got her attention, and his grin deepened.
"There
is a reason you can sense us in the human world, and a reason for your
blindness. You have Athuron blood."
Chapter Seven
Macie
was going to be sick. Nerves had her strung so tight, she could barely see
straight, and a heavy weight sat on her chest and made breathing difficult. The
old courthouse was packed to the rafters with Athurons of all ages, and a murmur went through the crowd when she entered, safely
surrounded by Arich's guards. Lycille had opted to stay with her, and she clutched the older woman's hand in a death
grip.
This
was it. Make or break time. If the elders voted against their union, the best
scenario would be Kaylom's banishment to the human
realm forever. He would be stripped of his shifting powers, and he would never
see his parents again. Macie couldn't even begin to imagine what that would do
to him. It was clear that they were a close family unit. Kaylom had an
important role to fulfill, and when all was said and done, they were his
parents. The week she'd been forced to stay here in the Athuron realm had made Macie realize how much she'd missed her own parents, as
overprotective and annoying as they could be. The thought of how frantic they
must be by now, tore her heart to shreds.
A
murmur
of the next few days. She was assessed mentally and physically by a seeming
army of Athuron scientists, until Macie wanted to
scream that she wasn't a fucking guinea pig. She didn't, of course. For
starters Kaylom's life quite literally hung in the
balance, and besides, everyone was perfectly polite and considerate.
Everywhere
she went folks stared and treated her like some form of royalty, which was
rather disconcerting. What was even harder to take was the sheer opulence of
her surroundings. Arich was one of the Athuron's most respected elders, and Kaylom was his only son.
Under
the circumstances Macie wouldn't have blamed him if he'd sent her packing back
to the human realm, or at the very least, would have been pissed off with her.
Instead he scoured the old texts for a precedent and came home every evening
looking more and more haggard. Lycille worried about
him, yet she never once lost her sunny disposition, and regaled Macie with
tales of Kaylom's childhood that made her sides hurt
from laughing so much.
The Athurons ’ world was fascinating, but it wasn't home,
and with each day that passed Macie worried more. About Kaylom ,
her parents, and her practice, too. Lord only knows what her parents must be
thinking about her absence. They would be going insane with worry.
The
evening before Kaylom's date for trial everything got
on top of Macie. Sitting in the sumptuous gardens of Arich and Lycille's mansion she threw stones in the pond.
One hit the water nymph statue straight in the face, and the statue shattered
into a gazillion pieces, and it shattered her resolve, too.
"Fuck
it." Macie screamed and ran full pelt into the hard, immovable wall that
was the body of Arich .
"Where
do you think you're running to, little one?"
Macie
pummeled his chest, too far gone to care about the fact that she was hurting
him, or the fact that his guards were once again surrounding him.
"Let
me go, damn you. I wanna go home. I don't belong
here. This is useless. Just let me go."
Arich pulled her into
a fierce hug and simply held her while she soaked his front with useless tears,
until she had none left. He handed her a silk handkerchief, and she blew her
nose noisily.
"Better?"
he asked, and she nodded.
"Sorry,
it just all…"
"Got
on top of you, I understand. To be honest I'm surprised you have not broken
down before. Lycille was right. Kaylom chose well." He nudged her chin up to study her face and smiled down at
her.
"You
won't be saying that when they decide to execute him." She sniffed her
tears away, and he shook his head.
"That
won't happen. I came here to tell you, I found what I was looking for."
That
got her attention, and his grin deepened.
"There
is a reason you can sense us in the human world, and a reason for your
blindness. You have Athuron blood."
Chapter Seven
Macie
was going to be sick. Nerves had her strung so tight, she could barely see
straight, and a heavy weight sat on her chest and made breathing difficult. The
old courthouse was packed to the rafters with Athurons of all ages, and a murmur went through the crowd when she entered, safely
surrounded by Arich's guards. Lycille had opted to stay with her, and she clutched the older woman's hand in a death
grip.
This
was it. Make or break time. If the elders voted against their union, the best
scenario would be Kaylom's banishment to the human
realm forever. He would be stripped of his shifting powers, and he would never
see his parents again. Macie couldn't even begin to imagine what that would do
to him. It was clear that they were a close family unit. Kaylom had an
important role to fulfill, and when all was said and done, they were his
parents. The week she'd been forced to stay here in the Athuron realm had made Macie realize how much she'd missed her own parents, as
overprotective and annoying as they could be. The thought of how frantic they
must be by now, tore her heart to shreds.
A
murmur
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