Valley Of Glamorgan (5 page)

I smiled a wide and rare smile and laughing
I looked at Knoll before proclaiming, “That was so funny!”

He smiled back, responding with, “Well, I
thought she was being rude to you and needed to know her
place.”

“Well thank you,” I told him. “It was funny
and you have no idea how bad I needed that. I am just glad she will
not be making our food.”

Knoll nodded in agreement and said, “We
would definitely have some nasty spit in it.”

I laughed before my face turned serious.
Quickly I said in panic, “You don’t think she would have someone do
that to us do you?”

With a wide grin he reassured me, “No Mina,
I do not. If I did think so, I wouldn’t have made her angry.” We
both laughed and I breathed a sigh of relief; but secretly making a
note to check my burger for any weird, added condiments that I
hadn’t ordered.

“Now, back to the topic in hand,” announced
Knoll shifting in the booth across from me. He looked as if he was
uncomfortable in his seat, or maybe it was the topic; which
undoubtedly made me feel uneasy. Doing my best to steady myself I
waited to hear what he was about to say. He began, “Well for
starters, I must tell you that you’re not human.”

I swallowed hard and looked at him, eyes
wide, before asking, “What do you mean?”

He sighed; appearing a little agitated but
he continued, “Mina, if you want me to tell you the story, you have
to try not to interrupt me every time I speak.”

I smiled and agreed to keep my comments and
questions to myself, at least until he was completely finished; no
matter how bizarre or far-fetched the conversation grew. Somehow I
had a feeling it was going to get a whole lot weirder. Clearing his
voice, Knoll continued, “As I said before, you are not human. I am
not human, that is how I managed to crumble the lock on the shed.
You too have an incredible gift. Although you will not have access
to that gift until you reach your seventeenth birthday!”

Shocked, I didn’t know what to think or say.
I had heard him mention that to me earlier, when telling me about
my fake parents but I hadn’t let the statement sink in. I let Knoll
continue. “I think it will be easier for me to explain our history
first,” he said. I shook my head and readied myself for a long,
unbelievable story.

Taking a deep breath he began, “Long ago
there were creatures that inhabited the earth, called Fomorians.
The Fomorians are a race of demonic giants; ancient occupants who
were the first to invade Ireland. After many battles with the
humans, the Fomorians afflicted them all with a plague. The secret
organization that Stephanie and Jack were apart of were descendants
of the former Fomorians. That is why they were so vulgar in their
true nature; they are descendants of evil demons. We came along a
little later.

Our ancestors were created by the Irish
goddess, Abnoab; the Goddess of the forest and rivers. Abnoab came
forth and created the Pacu, which at that time were creatures
similar to fairies and shape shifters. They protected the forest,
and truth be told, weren’t very nice to those who harmed them. More
than anything else they would often play jokes on people. But they
were incredibly respected and, if treated nicely would help the
humans. Forth and foremost, they helped keep the terrible Fomorian
demons from plaguing the town’s people any longer. You see Carmina,
they were created to bring peace to a troubled people who were
tortured and murdered by these Fomorians. We are the descendants of
the Pacu; if it helps you can call them fairies. Knoll’s
explanation was interrupted by the waitress bringing our food;
after she had set the plates down and walked away, without so much
as a word, Knoll smiled and continued, “Would you mind if I ate
first, then continued the story?” Hesitantly I agreed as I searched
my food for signs of saliva.

We ate in silence and I processed the
information he had given me. It felt as if I was in a really bad
sci-fi movie again, thinking to myself, ‘I mean come on, fairies
and giant demons.’ Then I began to question Knoll’s credibility. I
didn’t believe in any of that crap, I believed that there is one
god.’ I thought that I had said that to myself, but apparently
not.

Knoll stopped eating and looking up from his
plate he proclaimed, “That is fine Mina, I am not asking you to
question your beliefs. But, I think that you should respect the
possibility that others existed long ago.”

Stammering I replied, “I... I… just don’t
know.” After all I had been thinking that it was all so crazy all
along. Continuing to calm myself, after trying to get it all out, I
said, “I am not a closed, minded person, but I am also not
delusional Knoll. I will keep my faith and my beliefs but I do
promise to give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that
anything is possible at this point in time.”

Knoll laughed and smiling he responded,
“That is all that I would ever ask of you Mina.”

Having finished our food Knoll paid the
check and we made our way out to the van. As soon as he had buckled
his seat belt and we were on the road again, I urged him to
continue the story and happily he obliged. “As I was saying,” Knoll
spoke. “We are the descendants of the Pacu from many years ago,
more like decades since. Back then people had a more open mind, as
you say. Humans lived side by side with these beings and the Pacu
didn’t need to hide, but as time went on Abnoab decided that it
would be best if we were born to look like humans; so the Fomorians
wouldn’t be able to find us as easily. The humans wouldn’t kill us
to extinction like they had done with so many other magnificent
creatures.”

“That makes sense,” I said, slamming my hand
over my mouth and apologizing for not holding to my promise not to
speak to him.

Knoll just chuckled and went on with the
story. “I know this is a lot to take in Mina, but you will grow to
understand this story and maybe even grow to trust in it. We took
control of the land and have ruled for many centuries, keeping the
world safe and at peace from the Fomorians, but if they can take
the leadership they will once again ascend and destroy the world as
we know it.”

I swallowed the bile that was building in my
throat, saying, “So my parents were two of these evil creatures?”
Sighing and Knoll could answer me; I slapped my hand to my forehead
feeling dizzy. It was a lot of information to consume. Even if I
didn’t want to believe it, I knew in my heart there was truth in
what he was saying. And I was starting to understand all too well
how my parents could have done this to me. It really was a mess and
all for nothing but power.

Knoll sighed in a concerned manner, asking,
“What questions do you have for me Mina?”

“Okay,” I readied myself, sitting up and
turning my body to face him as he had done with me when he had
pulled to the side of the road earlier that evening. “Well, for
starters, what kind of gift will I receive when I turn
seventeen?”

“
Ah, straight to the point, eh, Mina?”
Knoll said as he was chuckling at me. I rolled my eyes as he
continued, “You will be able to shift into the form of an animal.
We used to be able to shift from Pacu to any animal, but now that
we are born in human form, we can only choose one and have to stick
with that one forever. That’s due to the fact that our bodies can
only sustain the stress of converting into one animal. When you
reach your seventeenth birthday you will receive the will to change
into that animal at any time and gain its strength, speed,
etc.”

I gasped, “An animal!” The thought left me
utterly speechless for a few seconds. “How cool,” I exclaimed! I
just couldn’t help myself.

Knoll smiled brightly, saying “I am glad you
are excited about it Mina. Make no mistake though, you must choose
wisely. It is a painful process; and takes at least three days for
the change to take place.”

“Oh,” I sighed, “Of course it couldn’t be
easy could it.”

Shaking his head he looked directly into my
eyes before seriously saying, “Mina, all gifts come with great
responsibility. That is why you must experience the pain, so you
will never take the gift for granted or use it for bad.” Strangely
I understood and nodded my head in agreement as I knew he made
sense, but still, it didn’t make it suck any the less.

“Well, what animal are you,” I asked. “Sorry
Knoll; I hope it wasn’t rude to ask that.”

Knoll obliged me, happily saying, “Well
Mina, my animal selection was a bit different than most, as we are
the guardians we must pick a fierce animal; one that can obviously
protect.”

“Ah,” I sighed, “Yet that is also not right.
You should be able to choose freely like everyone else.”

Knolls’ voice changed into a saddened but
empathetic sound, as he replied, “Well, not everyone can choose
freely. The royals get to, but most of us have a selection that we
can choose from. Of course, not one that is more powerful than the
royal families; for obvious reasons.”

I shook my head in disbelief saying, “That
is B.S!” And as he raised an eyebrow questioningly at me, I
explained the meaning, “B.S yeah, well it means; bullsh…”

“Ah,” he cut me off, “I get the point. It
has to be like that Mina, or people would get power hungry and
fight the royals until they could take over the reign. All species
are like that, not just us. Humans, as you know, have police
officers that have to carry guns and may have to use them on a
criminal. Likewise we have to protect ourselves with our
animal.”

I understood, saying, “I get where you’re
coming from Knoll, but it seems to me that you’re lessening others
chances to protect themselves from other things like the
Fomorians.”

Knoll shook his head continuing with, “Yes,
it does seem that way.”

“Well, if you can pick a stronger animal
than a ruler as a guardian, what keeps you from killing a royal?” I
asked.

Smiling he replied, “I never thought of it
like that, but, it is impossible for me to harm a royal unless they
are trying to kill me. It’s embedded in my blood Mina. Ever since I
took the oath, if you die; I die with you. The only way the blood
oath can be broken is if you decided to allow another guardian to
swear an oath to you.”

I choked and my body grew frigid but all I
could say was, “Wow.”

Placing his hand on mine he responded, “I
chose this life Mina, no-one forced me into it. I wish it didn’t
have to be that way. But some things are set out for us and that’s
the way it is; there’s no reason at being upset about it. No change
will come.”

Despite his reassurances I knew I had to ask
him, “Do you always talk like that?”

He laughed replying with, “Talk like what?
Does the way I talk bother you?”

“No. It’s just that you’re the most
optimistic person I know,” I replied simply.

“Oh,” said Knoll, “Well, I suppose that is a
good thing.” And he smiled knowingly; confirming what I said even
more. “Any more questions Mina? We are about twenty minutes away
from your grandmother’s house.”

My grandmother! For the moment I had
forgotten all about her. Feeling butterflies in my stomach I
wondered what I would say to her. Clearing my mind I decided to
just speak the truth, and hope that she would still love me.

As Knoll cleared his throat, he politely
pulled me from my thoughts, before subtly reminding me that I
needed to ask the rest of what I wanted to know. “Tell me about my
mother, and father?” I asked firmly; suddenly wanting to learn more
of the unknown.

“Well,” replied Knoll, “Their names are Liam
and Eleanor. They are the rulers of our kind. They are mother and
father to you and your sister, Maggie.”

Stopping him in mid-sentence, I quickly and
sharply asked, “I have a sister?!”

“Yes.” he responded.

“I always wanted a sister,” I said
absent-mindedly, wondering how old she was and if she looked like
me. “How old is she?” I asked.

“Well, in human years, she is 25 years old.
However, in our time she is 125 years old.”

Gasping I said, “Wow! No way! That is so
old. So how old do we actually live to be?” I was still in state of
mind of half-disbelief, yet somehow I also completely
understood.

“Well,” he said, “it depends. The oldest
Pacu was thousands of years old.”

“Holy cow! That is a long time,” I exclaimed
thinking that I would never get used to all of this; how could it
all feel so wrong, yet so right? “But wait, if I have a sister and
she is older than me, then why can’t she take the place on the
throne?”

Clearing his throat, Knoll explained, “Well
Mina, this is where this gets kind of hard to understand. Although
Maggie is the oldest; she must marry a guardian and become a
healer.”

“Huh?” I responded, feeling as if I was an
idiot and the quizzical expression on my face really didn’t say
otherwise.

Knoll readily replied, “We have rules and
laws like every society. To ensure that our kind can survive we
have to make sacrifices. Maggie must mate with a guardian and bear
a child so that there can be another generation of guardians;
strong blood mixed with royal blood is the only way.”

“Okay I get that, but a healer? Why?” I
asked, cutting Knoll off as always.

“Well, we can’t go to a doctor, our bodies
are too different. Besides we would probably become a science
experiment in some lab if we did,” he began speaking.

“But I have been to a doctor,” I
interjected.”

Knoll shook his head, saying, “I don’t doubt
that Mina, but it wouldn’t have been a human doctor; most likely it
was the Fomorians healer.”

I gasped in disgust, “Oh! That’s just
great.” The thought making me shiver.

Touching my hand he calmly said, “I didn’t
mean to upset you; but Mina, know that I will never lie to you.” He
smiled, and for that I was grateful. For some reason deep down,
even though I knew that I didn’t know him that well, I also knew
that he was being genuine.