Extraordinary

A special thank you to my editor just_a_bibliomaniac who not only edited but kept me encouraged and excited about writing.

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Chapter 3: Unbound, Uncaged, and Unruly

The petite woman and the large brown wolf smiled delightedly at the small group before them. The wolf looked vicious with his mouth full of glistening sharp teeth, paws the size of basketballs, and general body size of a small car. The menacing image was broken when he not only sat down on his haunches with a comical huff but crossed his large hazel eyes.

The woman next to him was delicate in comparison, she was eye level with the wolf's head while he was sitting down. She was the embodiment of grace and poise, with a body structure suiting a more mythical creature than any human race. There was, however, a striking similarity between her and Christina as they had the same quirky smile, fair skin, and curly dark brown hair.

"Please be welcomed to my modest home. " Jerry said with a humble bow of his head.

The pair inside the circle bowed their heads to him in return before turning their attention on Christina.

"Christina, you look so beautiful," said the woman without moving her lips.

Christina was shocked and could do little more than touch her quickly healing split lip and mumble, "So do you."

Next to Christina, Lilly was frantically searching the room for the projector or screen causing the images while repeatedly telling herself, "This can't be real."

"Christina, may I introduce you to Henry and Angel, your parents." Jerry said quietly to the silent room.

Christina stared at the only thing she remembered from her family, the eyes of the wolf. "Papa."

Christina went forward as if to embrace the family she had lost, but Jerry stopped her, "You can't cross the circle, if the circle is broken the spirits will be set free and return to where they came from."

Tears of both sorrow and joy streamed down Christina's face, "I never got to know you but I miss you both so much. Do you know what is happening to me?"

Henry licked Angel's face causing a brilliant

smile to cross her face. She nodded as she hugged him before she waved her hand before her. The air fizzled again and where the couple had been standing a borderless window appeared in their place, within the window images started to flicker.

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Looking closely Henry and a black wolf are circling each other. Both wolves have their hackles raised while snarling, Henry is twice the size of the black wolf but that doesn't stop him from launching into the air directly at Henry. He easily evades the attack before capturing the neck of the black wolf that anxiously dangles there, trying to get free. After a brief moment Henry bites down on the neck of his opponent and drops the lifeless body. This scene fades to reveal Henry standing on a rock with a sea of wolves below him. He lifts his head to howl and the rest of the wolves echo him.

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Rem's body shook as if trying to hold something back. Her skin had begun to ripple with her fists clenched by her side, while her expression was scrunched in silent pain. Her agony went unnoticed to everyone but Jerry who watched Rem with growing admiration. Christina was fairing no better; she had her hands covering her heart like she was trying to ease the emotional pain. Lilly's determination to find the technology responsible for the images was gradually fading and she began watching the scenes pass magically before her eyes.

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The view in the middle of the circle flashed brightly before showing a tall handsome man standing with Angel. He just said something to make her laugh while looking pleased with himself. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder before she leaned into him to flirtatiously touch his arm with her palm. He grinned lightheartedly at her before he lifted her hand to his lips.A faint blush spread across her cheeks before he winks at her and kissed her knuckles tenderly.

The next scene starts with bright red flashing before it revealed the man and Angel kissing in the back of a car, her shirt was off while he tried unsuccessfully to remove her bra. He was unable to get it off which made her break out in laughter; he stared at her lit up expression helplessly before he regained his mind enough to press his face to the side of her neck. He kissed his way up to her ear and obviously whispered something to her, whatever he said upset her because she tried fiercely to get away from him with tears running down her face.

She got out of the car with her palm extended outwardly; a ball of fire erupted over her flesh and seemed to be dancing in her hand without burning her. She then threw the ball of fire at the car to deter him from following her as she tried to run away. The man turned into the wolf, known as Henry, prior to running after her with a snarl on his lips.

The following scene starts to sparkle and flash a brilliant white before it was transformed to display Angel and Henry meeting each other in the dead of night.

They whispered, "I checked with the oracles, if we are mated they have no say. They can't keep us apart because they hate each other."

Henry and Angel appear naked in the following image; the pale moon clearly revealed the pair standing in each others arms. He lowered himself to the ground to shift into his wolf while Angel sifted her fingers through his thick fur. It was apparent that she wasn't afraid of this wolf because, she merely chuckled when the over-sized animal rubbed his sides against her,resulting in her to falling down. This was what the wolf was aiming for because he instantly lowered his muzzle between her legs and judging by her pleased expression and jerking hips she must have liked the attention.

Angel's pale skin started to turn a pink shade while the wolf continued his ministrations. Her body arched off the ground as a shock wave radiated from her causing Henry to freeze. When Angel calmed down she realized Henry was just standing there with his tongue sticking out and his muzzle glistening. She giggled to herself as she got on her hands and knees before him while a shock wave came from her again. Henry looked confused for a moment but wasted no time crawling over her, which hid her beneath him. He seemed to be barely moving, but just then the whole picture shifted and the faces of Angel and Henry became the focal point. Her face was bright red while her expression was more erotic, clearly she was about to come. Just as she screamed out her pleasure Henry bit down on her neck.

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Christina blushed while she ducked her head. She was embarrassed to watch anyone kiss let alone observe her own parents behave so intimately. Rem had not noticed Christina's embarrassment, but had shifted closer trying to catch the scent of her subtle arousal.

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The air popped and fizzled again before it exposed Angel and Henry smiling down at a screaming new born baby. All around them people glared at the child as if it was an abomination, their expression unseen by the happy new parents.

In a blink, the image changed to an angry looking man about to push a large knife through baby Christina's chest while she slept in her crib. Henry saw this just in time and rushed into the room to tackle the man before he could do any harm.

The borderless window loudly crackled and shifted to display Angel wrapping a picture of Christina in a red ribbon while chanting. The small wolf puppy playing just behind Angel paused and whimpered before changing into a human version of toddler Christina.

"I know you are upset my love, but you are in danger. As long as this picture is wrapped in ribbon, the binding will hold. You will be human in every way my darling. It is the only way to keep you safe."

These words only make the toddler wail in protest as she tries to turn back into a wolf with no success.

The last scene shows a shoebox on fire with the focus on a ribbon wrapped picture of Christina burning slowly. The fizzling air calmed down and the picture faded away leaving the circle empty.

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"They are gone." Jerry murmurs as he starts to pick up the candles and clear the floor.

"How did you do that? I don't understand, where those really her parents? This is a sick trick and you should be ashamed." Rem ranted while trying to comfort Christina who had tears streaking down her face and was visibly shaking.

"I am a druid and contacting the dead is a gift of mine. So, yes those were really her parents, and I have nothing to be ashamed of. It did, however, explain a lot and only proves she is the next Sábháil Tréimhse."

Jerry looked at Christina with a worried expression, "Your parents showed you the first part of the dream. You were born out of the love of your parents but also out of the hatred of their families. Your mother was a witch and your father a were, that union is forbidden even today. The last part showed your mother binding your powers which got released when your house burnt down."

"Oh man, oh man. This is serious shit." Rem said as she dragged her hand down her face looking very tired.

"How do you know any of this you nut case? Why do you believe every word this man says, this is all, everything that has happened is, oh shut up Rem. This isn't real." Lilly yelled at her new friend unable to finish a coherent sentence.

Rem' eyes turned a golden color and her voice deepened in anger, "You're the nutcase. You saw what I saw but yet you deny everything. You are so narrow minded and blind you refuse to acknowledge something as pure as druidic magic. Trust me when I say that everything you saw is real and that magic exists in the world you blindly live in."

The anger rolling of Rem was palatable in the room and Lilly actually backed down, "Okay, okay. Maybe I am being narrow-minded; I guess we just need time to digest this. Calm down Rem, you're scaring us."

Rem took a deep breath and the anger seemed to dissipate. Everyone seemed to release the breath and tension they were holding in obvious relief. Rem didn't look happy though, in fact, she seemed to retreat completely from all conversation and refused to look at anyone while she stared at her feet.

"I think we all need a stiff drink. How about we go back to Underground and get a couple rounds of something strong?" Lilly asked softly.

The trio made it to the bar at happy hour; luckily it was fairly empty at this time of day as the girls ordered a few shots of whiskey. Heather had seen them walk in and was instantly at their table asking tons of questions. She was coldly received though and only got vague answers; clearly she was intruding but didn't seem to mind.

Heather's face brightened suddenly as she waved to someone in the back of the bar, she called out inviting whoever it was to join them. Axel walked forward and greeted Heather quietly before he sat to Christina's left while he ordered another round of whiskey before turning his attention to Christina.

"How are you feeling today? I see the split lip is gone." He said curiously.

Christina glanced at Axel but remained silent. She drank her shot of whiskey in one gulp before she answered him, "Well I learned my house was burnt down, that my parents loved me and tried their best to protect me, and oh yeah, I learned I'm special. So I'm just peachy, thanks for asking."

"Damn, you had a rough night. If you need a place to stay let me know, I've got a few spare rooms you could stay in." He said while reaching for the large group of empty shot glasses.

"Mine." Christina growled lowly.

She hugged all the shot glasses to her chest trying to keep the empty drinks near her. The fact that Axel was trying to take what Christina deemed hers made her feel an uncontrollable anger. Her eyes changed to a striking blue shade and a snarl graced her lips. The insatiable need to rip Axle's hand from his body grew stronger until razor sharp claws grew from the ends of her fingertips an instant before she raked them across his forearm.

A stunned Axel pulled his arm away while the rest of the group stared at the blood running from the four deep gouges. The sight of blood startled Christina and in peer panic she splayed her hands in the air. An unseen shockwave radiated from her hands as the claws retracted into her fingertips. She turned to Rem and Lilly to ask if they just saw what had happened but they were frozen in time. Christina tried everything to get the people around her to move but everyone was stuck in place as if stone.

More afraid than ever Christina ran outside to get some help when she stopped abruptly. Outside cars and the people inside them were unmoving, even a bird in flight remained motionless in mid-air. This only upset Christina more and she would have had another breakdown had she not heard a voice. She called out to whoever it was but got no answer. She listened intently and jumped when she heard the voice again.

"Calm down. You must go inside and take a deep breath. Everything will be ok."

She had no idea where this was coming from but she felt calmer then and was beyond trying to figure out what had just happened. She went inside as instructed and took a deep breath while standing by the front door. Suddenly everyone in the bar to start to move again to Christina's delight; it was a shock to her friends, however, because to them she had moved from her seat to the door faster than a blink.

What happened next was the funniest chain of events Christina had ever seen. Axel was staring at the space Christina was previous occupying and when he realized she had moved without walking he flailed his arms in surprise. This wild flailing knocked a confused Rem to the floor with a loud thump. This event made Christina burst out in a fit of giggles that seemed to ease her stress.

Lilly incoherently tried to express her surprise, "You were sitting, but you're there, your hands they, you were all grr, I was all ahh, oh my god, blood."

Rem smirked at Lilly's babbling and started to help Axel clean his wounds. Rem's attention wasn't needed because the scratches had already stopped bleeding and looked days old instead of freshly made. She merely lifted her eyes to Axel's with a curious cock of her head. Axel merely grunted at her before he tugged his arm away from her.

"Go to Jerry's house, he will help explain what is happening. Everything will be ok."

Christina relaxed marginally after hearing that voice again, she looked around for who could have said it but no one was talking to her. She decided it was best to listen to the voice and told her friends it was time to go before walking straight out the door, obviously ready to get some answers.

The ride to Jerry's house was a silent one as everyone was lost in their own thoughts. The group made it to Jerry's house without any delay and Lilly, Rem, and Christina quickly found themselves settled comfortably on a couch, quietly watching Jerry as he busily rummaged around in a precariously tilting pile of books.

"I didn't think this would happen so soon. We must start your training before you kill someone. You didn't kill anyone did you? " Jerry said with apprehension drawn on his aged face.

Just as everyone in the room started to laugh the tilting pile of books decided to fall. Right before they hit the ground Christina splayed her hands in the air again, on instincts, and to her surprise the books never reached the floor.

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"Damn it, where is she now?"

In the space between time an angry Shai was pacing. He was trapped in a timeless place awaiting a judgment that would never come. He was the first Sábháil Tréimhse to fail, in essence he had not only refused to stop a soulless one, he had succumbed to temptation. He had gone to his own past to give himself the winning numbers to a lottery drawing, he had won millions.

The moment he interfered with his own past he lost his soul and tried to hide it from the council. It worked for a little while but they soon figured out what he had done and tried to entrap him until his trial. Unfortunately, he tried to get out of trouble by killing the one who was charged with dealing with him, he did manage to kill his captor but not before he was put in his own personal hell. No one could find him as the only one who knew where he was, died at his own hands.

Shai was forced to remember why the council had decided to put him here. The only way to stop a time saver from simply shifting through time was to trap them inside time itself by attaching them to a loop. In essence, the council was making Shai live in the same day until he died and this particular loop was the worst day of his life, the day his wife had committed suicide to get away from him. She had shot herself in the head in front of him, the pain of the death and the knowledge that he couldn't stop it was painful to remember let alone live repeatedly.

Shai had given up trying to change his loop; nothing he did stopped his wife from dying. Every day he woke up and nothing he had done the day before had happened so, he focused on trying to get out of his loop. A few months after he was put in here a soulless one had found him by accident. He told him that the recent timer saver had died and the shift between old and new had screwed up time for a moment.

From that moment, Shai had nothing to do but plan his escape; he often lured soulless ones to his prison to tempt them to kill the timer saver so he could shift through the weakened loop. So far his plan had failed miserably but he could feel it in his bones that he would soon be free. All he needed was his idiotic 'friend' to find the powerless time saver.

His friend's name was Sabastien before he became a cinn gan anam. He was from the early renaissance era and had been kicked in the head by a horse making him unable to make good decisions along with giving him a stutter. Sabastien had actually found Chrissy but because she was human he was unable to influence her directly.

The council had put a spell on all who passed through time. They had made it so if anyone traveled to the past no human could see, hear, or even feel someone from the future. The only way to interact with someone from the past was to fiddle with their environment. Sabastien was supposed to burn down the wench's house while she slept, but he had fucked up and burnt down the building with no one at home.

"I don't kn-kn-know where she is but something h-h-has happened. The council is c-c-calling a meeting and everyone is s-s-summoned." Sabastien told Shai through their mental connection.

"It should not be this hard to kill a powerless time saver. I suggest you hire someone to track her down before I get angry." Shai responded with anger.

Since Shai had nothing to do but wait he went to his trusty whore, in his loop he had found the easiest girl he could find and focused on relieving his stress with her. Part of the reason his wife had tried to leave him was because of his strange tastes, he couldn't help what got him off and his wife should have been more understanding. He sighed to himself, no use thinking about things he couldn't change;instead he focused on getting Shelly drunk enough to want to go to the hotel room with him.

After the somewhat chubby blonde could barely sit up straight, he decided it was time to leave the smoke filled bar and head to the seedy hotel. It was always easy to pretend like he actually liked the girl, he would support her as she stumbled her way up the broken stairs and hold her greasy hair back while she prayed to the porcelain gods. Nothing ever changed so tonight he was going to mix it up a bit.

He undressed and sat down on the dirty bed with a missing leg and directed Shelly to strip for him. He started belittling her while she fumbled with her dress, "Come on you fat, disgusting whore. Can't you be sexier? I don't know why I waste my time on something as ugly as you. Fuck, hurry up."