Chapter 10: Visitors
People always say that when you die you are subjected to the bright, white light of a seemingly infinite tunnel. That was what May saw and she hoped she wasn't dying.
Maybe I fell off . . .
She shuddered.
That was definitely an unpleasant thought. She opened her eyes and squinted at the blinding light that came from nowhere. She was still on the cliff edge, which meant she was still alive. That was good. She tried to open her eyes more, but they rejected being exposed to the shining atmosphere. Through the narrow opening between her eyelids, she saw a ghostly figure.
Daddy?
She wondered as the figure materialized more.
As it came into the present, the light faded until it was just a slight aura surrounding the man. He smiled at her and all of her childhood memories came rushing back. She'd expected him to be wearing robes of some sort, the light gray, long-sleeved shirt and slacks he donned surprising her. The white-haired man moved closer to her along the rocks, arms open in an inviting embrace.
"Papa!" she called aloud, flinging herself into his arms.
"
Ma petit
," he sighed, "you have changed so little." His accent was thick.
She squeezed him tighter, in disbelief. "I have so many questions for you! I β I . . ." She didn't know where to start.
He leaned away from her and grasped one of her hands in his own slender one. "I will answer as best I can. But first," he gently grabbed her chin in his other hand and brought her eyes up to his, "I have a story for you."
Looking into her father's wise eyes, she could see the story he was telling; the images drifted through her mind like pages from a storybook.
"There are those above us and they watch out for our people. We cannot see them, but it is said that every thousand years or so they return to this mortal plane. There are four of them β we call them Superiors. Andreinna watches over loyalty and infidelity, as well as truth and lies. Oran is the Superior over the gluttonous and the deprived. Salandar oversees righteousness and duty. The final Superior, Leo, watches over hope, the good, the wrong and the damned.
When the time came for them to walk the ground as mortals again, to see the world through the people's eyes, they stayed on Earth for centuries β always changing names, faces, locations. They took up jobs and worked like regular mortals, though their human contact was limited to only what was necessary. However, Leo craved the human affections he saw from day to day. He searched every corner of the globe for someone, going through many in the process. He found a woman, Corinne, in France, who was perfect. To him, she was worth waiting thousands upon thousands of years for. She was exquisite with her incredibly long, lustrous, dark golden locks and deep, warm brown eyes.
Their tryst became heavy gossip back in his home realm. The most surprising thing, though, was Leo's unexpected attachment to the frail, little human woman. He stayed with her β everyday β for six human years, until she turned twenty-four. Then he disappeared for days. He'd gone to ask his Father if he could make tiny Corinne forever his.
When he came back and gave Corinne the gift of immortality, she was shocked, to say the least. She ran from him and stayed hidden for almost two centuries, until Leo could take no more and asked for help from the Seers. They see all that has happened, all that hasn't, what might, and what might not. He succeeded in finding her, but she was not very forgiving. The two of them fought for centuries in the mortal world before Leo took her back up with him to his home, where they have remained, rekindling their love.
It is said that they'd conceived when Corinne was human, but the process was slowed when she was Turned β birth between two immortals was unheard of. That being said, she was pregnant for about three years."
Charamaine's eyes grew wide.
"She had three children from that one birth," he continued. "I, the oldest; Mariette, the female child; and Petiro, the youngest. My brother and I are replicas of our father, with the same white hair and silver eyes. Mariette is the spitting image of our mother, with a trail of golden hair and clear brown eyes.
My father took my mother and retired, for lack of a better term. They live in the mortal world from time-to-time, but mostly they live with the other immortals. He left his powers to his children. He gave hope to Mariette, the wrong and the damned to Petiro, and the good to me. However, Petiro was easily corrupted by the temptations of the underworld and so he was banished to rest between the realms for one thousand years before he could try his hand at being a Superior again. If we still saw him unfit to rule, he would be banished there for eternity."
Jatteo took May by her elbow and had her turn around to face the nothingness she'd seen earlier. He watched his daughter as she took in everything β and the lack of anything in the vast, infinite space.
"The cycles continued in Petiro's absence; the wrong and the damned were under my control until he returned. We went back to earth for a few centuries, exploring our creations. I found your mother in much the same way my father found Corinne, my mother. The only differences being that she was American and I already knew when I'd finally see her, and what she'd look like. A Seer had come to me and told me my future, for it gave life to an even more important one. The Seer told me I would conceive a child with her of enormous power β power so great it would be nearly palpable at birth. We hadn't realized we would have more than one child until your sister was born β without magic. When she became pregnant with you, your gifts were passed to your mother."
This was news to May. She'd always thought she inherited her telekinesis from her mother, not the other way around.
"You remember when I left." It wasn't a question. He watched her nod.
"I only left because I had to. Petiro had heard of your birth and when he came back into the realms, he felt your power . . . Then again, most magical beings did. You are incredibly strong, my dear. I doubt you have come to terms with just how much." He stroked her cheek in a fatherly manner.
"So when he came back, he started to search for you, for you can bring ultimate salvation or total destruction. I hadn't realized his intentions to use you for the latter and I let him get too close β but not for long. He placed a hex on you as a newborn, so you would be extremely susceptible to the devious and disastrous urges of the underworld. Your mother and I hadn't come to terms with this until your wings darkened." He motioned to the dark feathers looming behind her.
"When you were born they were tiny and white." He smiled a small smile.
"Your mother, Fina," he said her name with such reverence and adoration it was impossible to believe he couldn't love her still, "and I managed to release the curses on your infant person to the best of our ability. We cloaked your wings, the black would make otherworldly beings think of you as a member of the underworld. Petiro was banished to the underworld afterward. Father was merciful. He has been there for almost twenty-four years now, waiting for you."
"The blonde woman . . ." May suggested unsteadily.
He'd seen the direction of her thoughts. "I would never be unfaithful to you mother.
Never
. That was Mariette, my sister. I had contacted her to tell her that Petiro was after my youngest and she helped me shield away your powers so that it was impossible to track you. You became just a normal, human girl β your telekinesis slipped through the cracks somehow. But, I still had to leave in case he could find me, which would lead him to you. So soon, child, very soon, he will come back for you, most likely wielding a sacrifice for trade."
"Sacrifice?" May shivered. Her uncle did not seem to be the nicest man.
"Yes, but do not get trapped in his mind games. Use your own power, Charamaine. When it manifests, make sure he cannot get a hold of it or you. You will be more powerful than he could ever dream of being."
"What do you mean 'manifest'?" May asked quietly.
"On the next anniversary of my mother's Turning, you will be granted the full extent of your power."
May was confused, to say the least. She'd always thought that she already had her powers. "Papa," she said aloud, "I don't understand. I'm already a telekinetic. What else can I do?"
"Anything," he replied in an uneasy whisper. "My Father's powers, thankfully, skipped a generation and are all being passed on . . . to
you
."
He turned them around, took her hand in his own, and they started back towards the forest across the meadow.
"He's probably worried β though I can't tell well from here," her father said suddenly when they reached the forest's edge.
"Who?" May asked, thrown off by the topic change.
"Your mate."
May blushed. "I didn't think . . ."
"I can smell him on you, plus he marked you," he added, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
May's blush warmed ten-fold. She thought her cheeks were on fire! "Oh," she responded after trying to unsuccessfully gather her wits. "I β I'm sorry. I wouldn't have . . . I thought you β I, uhm . . . well . . ."
He squeezed her hand slightlyβ hers almost slick from her embarrassment β and her gaze shifted from her toes to him in time to see that they'd already made it back to the cabin.