Chapter Twenty: The Border

On top of everything, they had to explain the situation to the police. This was, of course, an impossible task. Their story had not been good. The gist was that the man they went to see at the court house turned out to not actually be Astryd’s brother, but some stranger who kidnapped them both. They escaped and came home. Details were sketchy; they didn’t know what sounded right. It didn’t matter. There were much more important things to take care off.

Li walked the whole perimeter of the scorched pool. The water was gone, run away through the cracks in the far wall and evaporated by the heat. The fire had left a large pile of twisted charcoal in place of the once grand manor that Astryd had called home. It wasn’t safe for them to be walking around the skeletal remains of the house this way, but they had lifted the caution tape for one last visit. The doors were burned away and most of the walls were blackened or had fallen from the stress. There was nothing they could salvage. The experts were baffled. The house had a full sprinkler system and wasn’t really very susceptible to fire devastation in the first place, but the whole manor had been ruined in just a few short minutes.

Astryd was very quiet. There was still no sign of her father. Like Li, she had come to think of Max as a liar.

Rosha was with them, observing the damage… it turned out that he was named as Astryd’s legal guardian in the case of incredible misfortune. Li wasn’t sure how she felt about him yet. He knew about her—the Doctor had shared with Rosha stories about Astryd’s half-Fae friend, though Rosha assured her, that to his knowledge he was the only other member of their little society who had any idea about her. Dr. Xander didn’t trust many of his friends.

Astryd and Rosha were staying at a hotel nearby, Rosha was trying to speed up repairs on the house; instead of having Astryd come live with him in England. He had made the decision to move his affairs to Foxtail Hollow to better ensure her happiness. He had no family in England, and the only family Astryd would own up to was here; Li, Isaac and Jay, her half-step siblings and Holly, their mother.

It had been the mothers who saved them. When Holly found out what had happened to Li, she sent Messy to find Mallory. It took Mallory several days to find her son. She didn’t know where he was living these days, but it became easier to find him once the people under his protection at the Castle began leaving in droves. Many of them were the weak and powerless who needed protection from their enemies—that was why they came to Max; protection.

It had been Selena who finally came to Mallory, hoping for a place to stay for a few days until she could find a new hiding place. When Mallory found out that Selena had come from Max’s home, she was able to get the location away from her. The Castle was protected by powerful enchantments. It had been very difficult for Mallory to break down those walls, but with the aid of someone who had been welcomed inside, the task was possible.

Under the circumstances of their miraculous escape, Holly and Mallory had refrained from crucifying Ambrose; at least, as far as their children knew. There was far too much that needed to be done before they could go back to concerning themselves with the intrinsic dysfunctional nature of this little half-blooded family.

Holly seemed far too relieved to have her babies all safe and back to her to think much about the wrong their father had done. That could come later, when there was less to celebrate. Mallory on the other hand, was trying to quickly and efficiently finish what she described as ‘the most powerful magical restraint I’ve ever inflicted on anyone, ever’.

Li could see that Mallory felt intensely guilty about the wrong her son had done them. Since the moment she brought them back home she had been working on a border; a magical wall that would surround the entire town of Foxtail Hollow. Max or anyone in an arrangement with him would be unable to cross the threshold.

“…When I send for my affects, I think I shall have to finally submit to my curiosity on a particular subject,” Rosha said quietly from Li’s right. She turned and faced him, she hadn’t realised that he was so close by. Astryd was still sitting on the edge of the pool across the room, dangling her feet into the empty void and staring at the blackened stone.

Li waited for Rosha to continue; she wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about him yet. It made her a little uneasy that he knew her secret. Then again, he seemed nice enough and he was trying his best to make sure that Astryd was comfortable. That concern meant a lot to Li.

“I’m a fairly new member of this little group of Xander’s,” Rosha told her, “Only for about the past six years, while there are men who’ve been following his work for the past two decades,” he dropped his voice even lower, “I heard rumors about a very unfortunate incident fifteen years ago. They don’t like to talk about it, and some outright deny it ever happened, but with what you two have told me about the Doctor’s son… I’m inclined to believe it’s true.”

“Fifteen years ago?” Li repeated back to him, “That’s around the time Max ran away.”

“That is very relevant,” Rosha cleared his throat, “I don’t know what is true and what is rumor, but the story goes that some of the other scientists oversaw a number of experimental procedures on the young boy. They were curious, particularly about his remarkable ability to handle pain and heal quickly… The Doctor first became aware of the extent of this when he accidentally had a finger severed off, and the appendage grew back.”

“That’s true enough,” Li murmured, “Faeries aren’t like that, but Sorcerers are… very durable.” She felt ill.

“It seems that when Xander told a few of the veteran members of our little group about this, they were intrigued to the point of wanting to see for themselves,” he looked grimly down at his feet, “The rest is as you would imagine it to be… It started with electric shocks. They wanted to see how much of that kind of stress his body could handle past the normal human limit. They clipped his wings every day, because they always healed within a few hours… I even heard that at one point they began to cut them off and record the rate of growth. It increased, you see, with each removal. The stress they put his body under finally overflowed… Max had too much. His body had too much.” Rosha sighed heavily.

Li wiped her eyes and turned her head, “The Doctor did this?”

“Oh no,” Rosha shook his head, “He had no idea. It went on for months. Max wore Fae Coins constantly—he had to, since he was thirteen. Xander didn’t know the extent… or… he didn’t want to. He knew that his friends were studying his son. He never bothered to look into their research methods… I don’t think he wanted to know.”

“Why didn’t Max tell him?”

“You would have to ask him—which I think would be a very unwise question to pose to the man. Those involved would deny it, but I think they may have used a tongue hex.”

Li stopped short there and looked sceptically at Rosha, “Are any of you Sorcerers?”

“No,” he shook his head for emphasis, “But after studying these things for so long, you start to pick up on the small things. Six human men who dabble in magic, working together to put a tongue hex on one very young Sorcerer—who has yet to come into his power—would be reasonably effective.”

“So, he couldn’t say anything,” she reached her hand up to her lips, “I think he did that to me,” she realised, “I wanted to talk to people about Max. But for almost two weeks I couldn’t. I would say different things instead. Stupid lies… I was finally able to tell Astryd after he came to see me at home… he said, ‘I release you’ before he left.”

“Max’s tormentors didn’t release him. He broke through the spell… his power finally developed to the point where he could fight back. It was ugly. He didn’t just run away from home, he was fleeing the sight of his first murder.”

“Who did he kill?”

“A man I never knew, named Jenkins, who kept extensive notes on the experimentation done on Max. I believe that is what the doctor gave me four years ago.” Rosha pulled out a pocket watch and glanced at the hands.

“His notes?”

“Yes… he gave me a large metal lockbox with Jenkin’s name on it and requested that I refrain from opening it until his death. I believe I have respected his wishes.” Rosha said the last part quietly. Like Li, he thought that Dr. Xander was most assuredly dead. “It will detail the research and experimentation done on Max. We might find something useful… I might be able to separate the fact from fiction.”

“So, Max ran away from home and went to live with his Sorceress mother… It wouldn’t have been too much longer before my dad turned up into their lives and became his stepfather… In the mean time,” she threw her hands up and motioned to the charcoal walls, “we’re all waiting here, oblivious, except for Dr. Xander, who continues his experiments like nothing happened.”

Rosha smiled sadly at her, those blue eyes were a great comfort. Li was struck with the feeling that Astryd would be happy with this man; she could heal with those eyes believing in her. “You handled all of this very well… I’ve already told Astryd. You’re very remarkable young women. So young and faced with such debauchery and illness. I can’t assure you that this will be the end of your troubles… It may not even be the end of your battle with Dr. Xander’s poor son. But I think that you will only becoming stronger and more capable.”

Li had never felt more powerless in her life. The fact that she was even alive seemed to be securely fixed in the category of ‘dumb luck’, but his confidence in her did make her feel stronger… She would be ready next time. Max had not been lying, that night weeks before when he told her that she had never been safe in her whole life. Better paranoid than someone’s fool. She would watch the shadows and prepare for what was to come. As a Soothsayer, she had the opportunity to see what was down the road—even if it was cryptic and confusing, she would learn the language of the abstract and prepare herself. She would never be like Selena or Roni or any of the other people who had to hide out with the powerful Kings and Queens to ensure their safety, she would learn to take care of herself in the midst of this psychotic balancing act she called a life. She couldn’t afford to be helpless. Her parents or her friends or Mallory wouldn’t always be able to come to her rescue.

There was a sound from within the Castle walls, Li recognized the fluttering as Opus entered the pool room in a streak of glittering starlight. She landed in front of Rosha and Li. “It’s ready… Mom wants your help to seal the gate.” She grabbed Li’s hand anxiously, “Come on, take off your coin and fly! It’s still early, there aren’t any humans around and it’s so exciting!”

“Someone might still see you—you really shouldn’t,” Li said but Opus just rolled her eyes, “They wouldn’t believe their eyes if they did see you, come on!”

“Here,” Li pulled a Fae Coin necklace from her pocket, “I’ve got an extra one for you—I promise that if you wear it while we go to close the gate, then I’ll let you wear it again when I take you shopping and you can met the humans.”

This idea pleased Opus greatly; she snatched the coin from Li and squealed excitedly, slipping it over her neck. Her wings vanished and the pattern of blooming flowers on her neck and shoulders faded back into her skin which changed to a warmer, more alive colour. “You have to promise we’ll go flying later though,” she pulled on Li’s hand, “Come on Astryd—you’ll want to see this. It’s really neat looking.”

Astryd seemed to wake up at the sound of Opus addressing her. She looked up and appeared as vacant and melancholy as before, but then her face split into a quick smile and she got to her feet, jogging to join the girls as they left. Rosha followed them with his hands in his pockets and a small smile on his face.

The gate through the border was in the woods behind Astryd’s house. It was the most secluded place they could find on the edge of town. A set of large white stones were spaced about six feet away from each other in the leaves. Mallory was standing there, looking ethereal with her great pale blue wings. Holly was holding Isaac (according to Jay she had only put him down twice since getting him back days before). Ambrose and Jay stood next to each other on Holly’s other side. Mallory’s other son Eicca was half hidden in the folds of his mother’s robes, small blue eyes peering curiously at his half-siblings. He was young enough that he still looked entirely human.

“Li, I need you to stand between the stones,” Mallory requested with a gesture of her hand. Li followed her instructions. “I consecrate this circle as a permanent sanctuary from those who would do harm to the innocents who humbly ask for protection from the wrath of my first born son; Maccus Armando Xander. I gave him this name within an hour of his birth and I now use that name to seal him from this place until the hour of his death.”

The last word had barely passed her lips when a great crackle from under the earth shook Li from the soles of her feet upward. The stones on either side of her were connected by a tiny string of golden light. She watched the line expand until it snaked out past them, stretching out as far as any of them could see into the trees, to encircle the whole town. For a moment they just waited and Li wondered if that was all.

The crackle grew into a rumble and finally exploded with a crash of lightning. Light shot up from the ground in an anti-gravity waterfall of gold and white. The light soared upward, looking like a billion grains of glittering sand. Li followed the sight as the light appeared in the distance—all the way on the other side of town. The gold flowed together and met at the peak of the invisible dome around the town. With another great crash a star appeared to flicker on and off in the heights of the sky above them.

Rosha clapped, and immediately began to talk to Mallory about setting up an interview for his research. Ambrose managed to convince Holly to let him take the baby for a while. Jay looked like he wanted to take Astryd away from Li, but the girls had different plans—at least for the moment.

“So,” Astryd slid her arm across Li’s shoulders and began to lead her away from the crowd, “How are we going to tell Emiko?” she sounded as bright as usual. She wasn’t all better, everyone knew it—but she was going to be fine. That much seemed clear.

Li groaned, “Oh, I don’t think I can handle any more for a while—can we just pretend I’m human for like a week?!”

“It’s going to be Halloween soon! That’s the one night you can get away with walking around without a Fae Coin… we’ve got to do something fun, and I’m sure Emiko will want to be in on the joke—that Halloween will be the one day when you don’t wear a costume—oh, but you can’t do that freaking chameleon skin or moving tattoo thing.”

“I can’t exactly turn it off-”

“-I think I’ll be Elvira,” Astryd looked pensive, “Or Jessica Rabbit… maybe Emiko should be Elvira. Whatever—we’ll talk about Halloween after we tell hear your big, dark secret.”

“Seriously, let’s wait a few days,” Li pleaded, “I’ve had enough.”

“Too late, I told her we’d meet at the mall—it’ll be even better if Opus went with us. You know that if you don’t tell Emiko, Opus will.”

Li sighed in submission, “Fine, we’ll tell Emiko today—but can we leave out the Edward bits until later?”

“Absolutely not, she needs to know about who he really is in order to get over him faster.”

“I’m not so sure it works that way.”

“Trust me—once she hears about how he got his Sorcerer arse handed to him by me she will be well on her way to recovery,” Astryd stopped walking and turned around, “Opus!” she called, “Are you coming?”

Opus overtook them in a blur. Even without her wings she was a fast little thing. Astryd sped up to talk to her; probably so they could conspire against Li, and plan the rest of the talk with Emiko. Li followed after them, but felt something on her back, like someone had taken a hold of the hem of her shirt to turn her around. She stopped walking and looked out into the trees behind her, moving her hair aside. In the distance she could see a dark figure standing on a cliff that jutted from the little hills in the forest. Tall and black, he stood very still looking down upon the forest and the town beyond.

Li glanced over at her mismatched family, still speaking to one another and seemingly unaware of the enemy on the hill. She turned her gaze back to the man in the distance and continued watching him watch her, until the sound of her named being called brought her back home.

THE END

Author's Note: I just want to thank you all for reading what became my fifth completed novel... I'm so sorry I didn't post the whole thing sooner. I honestly finished writing it in May, but I put off the editing and fine-tooth-cmobing because of a couple of reasons... Paritally it was laziness, partirally I got distracted by school, and then I went into this crazy state of being absolutely obsessed with Batman (specifically Nolan's new movie The Dark Knight) and I started actually writing a Batman fanfic over on Fanfictiondotnet. Yeah. Weird. I haven't written fanfiction seriously in a while, but I needed to let my new obsession have it's way for a while and I think I'm all better now!

I hope you guys enjoyed this story and that you'll check out some of my other work if you haven't already. Valkyrie Tempest is my next project that I'm planning to finish.

Also, I have begun work on a sequel to this already... It'll be a while on that though. Probably... a couple of years, actually. I'm going to serve a mission for my church in a few months, which means that my writing with be on hiatis for a year and a half. So, unless something incredible happens that frees up a ton of time, I'm gonna have to say goodbye for a while.

MWAH!