A Life Unexpected: Holly Nather Book One (Holly Nather Series) (36 page)

HOLLY

I REMEMBER FALLING
asleep on Cohen’s shoulder, but now I lie comfortably in my bed. I get up and stretch while I look out my window. It looks like it is going to be a perfect day for training. I go to the bathroom and get ready for the day. I quickly brush my teeth. As I wipe my mouth with a towel, I look in the mirror at my appearance.
I look so different from my dream.
Sighing out loud, I place the towel on the sink and turn out the light.

I rush out of the room and finally feel comfortable enough to navigate the house without the worry of getting lost. I make my way to the kitchen where Helen is eating a bowl of oatmeal with fresh berries while reading a newspaper. She points to a bowl on the stove and basket full of fresh fruit. I walk over and fix my bowl and sit down with her at the table.

She peeks over the paper to look at me and then starts reading again. Closing the paper she says, “Looks like the peace keepers of Gaia agreed to let Terre offer up a sacrifice instead of war.” My spoon falls from my hand and hits the table with a loud thud.

“What kind of sacrifice?!”

“A Versipellis, of course.” Handing me the paper and pointing to where it talks about it, she says, “Right there. It says a Versipellis will die in the place of the ones that committed the crime.”

“What happened to the ones who did this to me?” This all sounds so harsh.

“They are gone. No one can find them.” She says while taking the paper from my hands before I could read more.

“I have only been in a coma for three months! Shouldn’t they search longer?” I am angry. An innocent Versipellis should not be sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit.

Helen takes a drink from her cup and shakes her head. “In Terre, three months is like three years. Their time moves differently than any other world.” Okay, that is
beyond
confusing.

“So, basically they have been searching for three years?” I ask with confusion plastered all over my face.

“Something like that, yes. But it has only really been three months in Gaia.” Okay, she has seriously lost me on the subject of time.

Getting past being confused, my emotions quickly change to anger. “I am not okay with someone dying for something they didn’t do. Since I’m the one who almost died shouldn’t I be the one to say what an appropriate punishment is?!” I feel my face turning purple.

“And what punishment would you bestow upon them, my dear?” I hear my mother say from behind me. I startle at the sound of her voice. I didn’t even hear her footsteps!

Turning to face her, I say, “Nothing. There is nothing to be punished for. I am alive. I didn’t die!”

My mother slams the cup of coffee in her hand down on the table causing coffee to splatter everywhere. Her tone harsh, she says, “You are not fine! You don’t even remember your own mother!” She storms out of the kitchen with tears falling down her cheeks. I push my food away from me and look at Helen, who is cleaning up the spilled coffee, for an answer on what I should do.

Helen looks at me and gives me a sympathetic smile. “Peanut, it is just going to take her time to accept what happened to you. One day, when you have kids, you will understand how much she cares for you. You kids are all she has left of your father.”

I almost get up and go after her but don’t. Instead I look at Helen. “What was my father like?”

As she cleans the kitchen she tells me about my father. “He was such a good man, always doing things for others. When your mother and father hired me to help with you kids I couldn’t be happier to work for two of the best Fae in Gaia. Your father was a very rich man, coming from a rich family. That is how you have all of this. He left your mother and you kids with enough to make it for all of eternity.” She comes and sits with me at the table and continues. “He adored you and your siblings. You could have done anything, either bad or good, and he would have been proud of you. It was a sad day in all of Gaia the day he was killed.”

“How was he killed?”

“No one really knows. All we know is that gangs from Terre were coming to Gaia and Earth killing others. Terre is a really nasty world.” Disgust was etched across every inch of her face.

I start getting very defensive. “Not all Versipellis could be bad, though. Why are they allowing an innocent Versipellis to sacrifice their life? Why don’t they choose someone from a jail who is sentenced to die anyway?”

“Because the peace keepers of Gaia want it to
mean
something to Terre. To remind them to do good.”

“But how would that remind them to do good? Won’t it just make them angry that someone who was innocent shed their blood for something they didn’t do?”

Smiling softly, she says, “The decisions others make will often never make sense. If this is what they think will work, then we need to trust the ones appointed to make these types of decisions. We must not try to make the decisions for them.”

I slam my fist down on the table. “But I should have a say! I’m the one who almost died!”

Helen calmly places her hand over my clenched fist and white knuckles. “It doesn’t work like that.”

So much feels
so
wrong about what the peace keepers are doing. I take a deep breath and let it out. Probably best to drop this subject before I explode.

I stand up from the table. “Thanks for breakfast. I’m going to find Harim to see what time Tib will be here to train me.”

I walk out the front door to see Cohen and Harim talking in the trees. By the expression on their faces, they are talking about something serious. They haven’t noticed me so I remain quiet. Cohen is running his hands through his hair and has his jaw clenched tight.
What’s going on?
Harim is patting him on the back which seems like a sympathetic act. When they spot me standing on the steps they both look like a deer caught in headlights. That’s not obvious they were talking about me. No,
not
at all.

I walk over to them. “So what is the deal with the cryptic look on your faces?”

“Nothing.” They both say in perfect unison. Yeah, they are not suspicious at all.

I place my hands on my hips and tap my foot. “Explain.”

“Cohen, you got this one, buddy?” Harim asks with a half smiling look directed at Cohen.

“If I said I was not ready to talk about it, would you let me explain later?” Cohen asks, more like pleads with me, to leave the subject of their conversation alone.

“Okay, but we
will
be talking about it later.” He sighs in relief and smiles at me.

“Are you ready to train?” Harim asks.

“I guess so. I hope I don’t completely suck. Where is Tib?”

“He is here. He is around back waiting for us.” Harim says and leads the way to the backyard.

HOLLY

“IS THAT TIB?”
I ask Cohen while pointing to the Fae that is sitting Indian style, meditating. Cohen laughs and nods his head yes.

“He thinks he is one with the universe.
Extremely
odd but an excellent trainer.” Oh boy, this is going to be
so
much fun.

Tib opens his eyes and smiles when he sees us. “Hello, Holly. I was thrilled when I heard of your awakening.” He is now standing in front of me. He grabs my hand and kisses it.
Awkward.

“So what do I need to learn first?” I ask while pulling my hand from his. I look and see Harim and Cohen have made themselves comfortable on the outdoor furniture.

Tib looks thoughtful for a moment and then says, “First, I will share with you what you should be able to do. This will take a moment so you may want to sit down. I do not want you worn out before we ever get started.” I follow his directions and sit down where I am standing. Tib sits down in front of me and closes his eyes. I want to ask what he is doing, and why he is more girly than I am, but I’m afraid I will upset him like I did the healers. I
really
don’t handle odd situations well… I need a t-shirt that says: BEWARE: Awkward situations may induce extreme sarcasm. Or uncontrollable laughter.

He opens his eyes and his odd mannerisms remind me of Mr. Miyagi from the movie Karate Kid. “Fae are magnificent beings. We are beings of pure magic. Every one of our senses is in tune and open to magic at all times. We are able to see, smell, touch, taste, and hear magic—”

Cutting him off I ask, “What about spells? Can we cast spells like the Versipellis do?”

His face goes sour, and he pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance. I think he may be counting to ten before he explodes. He looks at me and says, “No, we can’t. Also, we never, I mean
never,
compare ourselves with the likes of them.” I place my hands behind me so I can lean back a little as he continues speaking. “
Our
magic is performed by tapping into existing magic. We
can’t
cast spells, but we can tap into any person, place, or thing that has been spelled. We can use that magic however we please. We can also use magic from places that naturally create magical energy. These places are things such as Fae rings, graveyards, and historical ruins. Am I speaking too fast for you?”

I shake my head no. “But I am confused. Are we only able to use magic from something that has magic? Can we not create magic from nothing? And
what
is a Fae ring?”

“Our magic comes from each other and every magical being that lives in Gaia. We are continually channeling magic from each other. That is why we don’t use our magic very often. Using it too much will age others as well as us. A Fae ring is something you are given at the age of twelve. Why are you not wearing yours?” Ummm… Because
genius
, I didn’t know I had one!

“I will go get it for you, sis.” Harim says, and I thank him.

Turning back to Tib I ask, “What if Fae get in a fight? Will they get old faster? And what other beings live in Gaia?” I barely take a breath between questions which causes Cohen to laugh. I turn to look at him and stick my tongue out causing him to laugh more. I’m glad he finds my amnesia funny.
Not.

“Fae rarely get in tiffs. We are the most powerful beings alive. We can absorb and channel any magic and use it against our enemy. This means that any magic that is cast towards us, we can absorb and use it against our enemy. It is almost impossible to catch a Fae off-guard. We are also able to perform group channeling. A Fae can channel his or her magic and send it to another Fae. The two Fae would bounce the magic back and forth until it becomes extremely massive. As for others who live in Gaia, they are elementals and trolls. You will not encounter them. They live on their own parts of Gaia.” He stops talking to make sure I’m paying attention, and I nod my head to let him know I am. “Now really pay attention because this is where it gets tricky. You will not be able to conjure up magic without it being channeled somewhere. If you do not
immediately
use it, you will find yourself in a heap of a mess. Before you use any magic, you must know exactly where you are sending it and do so immediately. The older you get the more powerful you become, and the more important this is. Our magic is constantly growing as we age. Do you have any questions?”

I think for a moment. “If our kind, are sooo powerful… Then why couldn’t Cohen and I fight those Versipellis that tried to kill me?” I sit up and place my hands in my lap. I turn to look at Cohen, whose face has gone hard. He quickly looks down at the ground to avoid my eyes.

Tib takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I am not sure what happened that day but there should have been no reason you and Cohen couldn’t have killed all three of them. It was most likely your nerves.”

“Oh…” I turn to look at Cohen again, and he looks up to meet my eyes. His green eyes are full of sorrow, but somehow he manages to move his mouth into a half smile. I smile back and turn to look at Tib. I ask, “So…about this channeling magic thing…the other day Cohen touched my arm—” I stop talking when Cohen about falls, because he jumps to his feet so fast.