Beware the Violet Page 2

  The keyhole formed a strange shape, meaning normal keys wouldn’t fit and yet it seemed familiar. That shape reminded me of my necklace so I pulled it from my neck. That’s when I noticed it glowed intently and the closer I brought it to the door, the more intense it got.

  It couldn’t be, I thought.

  I shrugged and placed the necklace in the keyhole. It fit together just like a puzzle, clicking into place and the door creaked as it opened. What do you know? Diane was right.It is an amulet, I mused and imagined the satisfaction on her face when I told her about it. I peered inside, but I could see nothing, only emptiness. I couldn’t understand why there would be a door standing on air, nor that it would reveal emptiness. A strong wind blew, pushing me forward, and I fell into the hole. I screamed as I fell, but after seeing I was falling for quite some time, I gathered the courage to look down. I calculated the distance to be like a 10-story drop which terrified me even more because my chances of making out of this alive had just become very slim.

  Chapter 2: The Gathering

  I was never much of a fantasy reader, but now I wish I had been; then I would have known what to do in this situation. It was dark in the hole, but I spotted a light shining down and it was becoming closer. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be the last thing I saw. I hit the ground and even though I bumped my head pretty hard; I didn’t pass out. Waiting a few moments, I inhaled and slowly got up, moving my limbs, but there was nothing broken. Only some bruises.

  I released a stream of thin laughter, relieved to be alive and examined my surroundings. A city unfolded with no noise and yet I felt there was something in the silence. As I closed in, I began seeing things that made my skin crawl. Every single building was black, but the most alarming thing of all was the lack of people. As I was passing a small square, I witnessed as something flew by me so fast; I didn’t have time to acknowledge it. When the wind dissipated, a man with dark skin stood, staring at me with a hungry expression.

  “Well, well, well…what do we have here? A human?” He sniffed the atmosphere, and grinned. “The veil is thin.” His smile was cold and shivers made their way to my back as I noticed as teeth began to grow and elongate until his pointy teeth reached his bottom lip.

  Shocked, I backed away. “Who are you? Where am I?” I said, and he smiled wickedly. I stared at his misty eyes, emitting a crazy glow that made my brain spin.

  “A lost child, perfect” he said and his tongue twirled between his teeth, filling with red liquid.

  My blood drained. A vampire, a real vampire. My mind whirled with the possibilities. Myth, vampires are a myth. I hit my head and I’m dreaming. I pinched myself, but I didn’t wake up.

  At that moment, I cursed myself for not listening to Diane when she narrated aloud how to kill supernatural creatures. Sensing my fear, the vampire laughed with glee as his nails grew in size and put one foot in front of the other slowly like he was enjoying watching me quiver in fear. “That’s the end of the line, little one.”

  I prayed and put my hands in front of me, closing my eyes and letting out a scream but the blow never came. Instead, the sound of something crashing filled my ears and reluctantly, I peeked through my closed eyes. What I saw made my eyes pop open. The vampire was face down and on top of him, was a snow-white bunny.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I shook my head, but the image didn’t dissipate.

  The bunny patted its foot on the vampire and crossed its tiny arms. It looked at me with a worried expression and waved at me as if to tell me to run. Without a second thought, I ran and entered the forest that rose above me.

  “This isn’t real, it’s just a dream,” I muttered when I stopped, too weak to consider anything else. “I must have fallen asleep during the celebration.” I swallowed, hoping for once in my life, I was among the boring festivities I loathed. Trembling, I looked at the dark shadows that formed into the forest and hugged myself. This place was probably the worst place to hide—if there was a vampire, there were bound to be others—but I didn’t know what to do. I was in an unknown place with no way out.

  A flutter of wings behind me made me turn and with wide eyes, I saw a blur and thought the vampire had returned.

  “Hello, my name is Kristy, and I’m a fairy.” My eyes grew even wider. First, a bunny, then a vampire showed up, and now a fairy. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  As I inspected the creature, I noticed that it was indeed a fairy with a set of purple wings retracting behind her back, red hair and violet eyes. A pair of pointy ears peeked through the fiery cascade and I stared at her, trying to wrap my mind around the fact she was a creature of legend. She was not tiny like the stories said, but the size of an adult human.

  “I can see that,” I croaked. My mind was frantically trying to find a rational explanation among the string of strange events, but there was none. I had hoped it was all a prank and I wouldn’t be mad if it was but it didn’t seem like it.

  “You’re Violet.” She pointed at my necklace. “You have the stone that opens the door.”

  “How do you know my name?” I asked defensively, my eyebrows rising up to my hairline. “Who are you and what do you want from me?” I demanded. My voice was rising with each word and even if the girl was seemingly harmless, I thought I’d get some answers at least. I’m talking to a fairy, I must be nuts.

  Out of the bushes, the white bunny appeared, and I backed off. Taking a look at it, I realized it was the same bunny I have been seeing all day and the one that saved me. The bunny gestured at the fairy and she nodded. “We will be there shortly,” she said, and the bunny took off. Without an explanation about the exchange, she turned to me, her expression growing serious. “Your grandmother mentioned you would be coming. We have been expecting you,” she said and hovered, gesturing for me to follow. “We need you, the world needs you. Please, come with me.”

  “Wait! What do you mean? How do you know my grandmother? Where are we going?” I asked while trying to catch up with her. I didn’t have a full grasp of the situation yet, I was petrified, and she was rushing me to who knows where? And how did she know my grandmother? My grandmother was human, and she had never mentioned coming to a strange place like this. The fairy flew toward a block of buildings and I followed her. She seemed to live here and was somewhat friendly with me so my best chance was to keep up with her and hopefully, she wouldn’t cast any magic on me.

  The fairy came to a stop, and I looked up to see where she had brought me. A silver building loomed above us, something I found odd since every other building I had seen was black. As I was inspecting the building, I noticed for the first time that the moon was blood red. Just staring at it, sent shivers up my back. How peculiar. “What is this place?” I gestured to the surrounding land. I was fed up with her not giving me any answers and I wasn’t going to be dragged anywhere without getting them.

  The fairy was about to push the door open but stopped midway. Then, she turned and said, “It’s called the Blessed Realm where beings like us roam.”

  “Are vampires blessed?” I tried to joke even though the memory of the attack was still fresh in my mind. I didn’t have to ask what she meant when she referred to “beings.”

  A slight smile lit up her face only to disappear moments later. “No, but they didn’t choose the name. You’ll get the hang of everything in a while. This is why you were called.”

  “I guess it’s time to find out why I’m here.” I inhaled deeply and pushed the door open. My jaw almost dropped at the sight that unfolded before me. The interior was not a shack like I had imagined, but rather a beautiful mansion. “Wow!” I followed Kristy to the massive living room.

  When I stopped admiring the beautiful house, I cast a look ahead, and it took a lot of self-restraint to not gape at the ensemble. At a dark lacquered table sat different kinds of creatures, a vampire, a ghostly-pale girl, and a beautiful woman. I cast a cautious look at the vampire as Kristy went to take her seat.

  “My dear Violet, you have
come,” the beautiful woman said in a clear voice. “Take a seat, we have much to discuss.”

  I sat in a blue velvet chair and gazed around at the majestic living room. Furniture made of oak was placed around the living room in a symmetrical and elegant way while chandeliers softly illuminated every corner. Red, soft rugs decorated the floor and made it more prominent. I was certain Mom would have loved the atmosphere of the place.

  I nervously looked at the vampire but he seemed more preoccupied with his nails than focusing on the conversation.

  “Don’t worry, this one doesn’t bite,” a male voice said, and I turned.

  A young man cast a curious glance at me, playing with a tiny orange knife. “You are really difficult to get to take a sign, you know that?”

  Frowning, I was about to answer when I noticed he wrinkled his nose. “The bunny!” It all added up—the blue eyes, the same way he tapped the table as the bunny did but what was he called? As soon as I uttered these words, his relaxed expression turned grim.

  “A bunny? Hmph! I am a rabbit, Mademoiselle and if you ever—”

  “But it’s the same thing,” I objected, and he stared at me, sharpening the knife faster on the edge of the table. Instantly, my expression became guarded. I didn’t want more trouble and even though a bunny seemed harmless, who knew what he could do?

  “Jac, leave her. She knows nothing about our world, don’t get so worked up,” Kristy said disapprovingly.

  “First, it’s Jacques,” he said, turning to Kristy—“and second of all, I’m a rabbit!” and without a warning, he morphed into the white rabbit I’ve been seeing all day. Before I could get a good look at it—or was it him?—Jacques shifted back into a human in the blink of an eye. “It’s a rabbit and next time you call me a bunny, I’ll pin you to the wall.” He stared at me, baring his teeth and I solemnly nodded. “You are rather ungrateful to someone who saved your life from a bloodsucking vampire only moments ago” he muttered and I blushed.

  “He isn’t always like that, I promise,” Kristy said, touching my arm. “It’s that he is a little sensitive on the matter, but he’s the friendlier of the shapeshifters.” After a pause, she added, “They are the species that resemble humans the most but the difference is they can turn into animals.” Thoughtful, she shrugged. “It’s hard to describe them but you’ll get to know them soon enough.”

  I had always thought bunnies or rabbits were cute, but I guess this wasn’t the case with shapeshifters. I looked around, trying not to stare at the other eerie creatures and finally, my gaze fell on the mystery woman. Her dark hair fell in waves while her orange eyes, looked at me with interest. There was something about her, and it wasn’t her striking beauty, that made you pay attention to her. I stared at the woman, trying to figure out what kind of creature she was. Maybe that would explain her unworldly beauty. No one could be that beautiful or have such a meticulous appearance. She certainly wasn’t a vampire or a fairy, but what could she be?

  “A witch,” she said, nodding at me.

  “How—?”

  “I don’t read minds, but your puzzled expression told me everything I needed to know to make the assumption.”

  “No magic wands?” I asked, trying to joke in spite of the situation.

  “Myth,” she replied. Of course, it was. “You must have a thousand questions, but I’m afraid we have little time; I’ll just stick to the basics. As I’m sure you have realized, this is a town where all the creatures you thought were just fairy tales, are real. A while ago, there was a disturbing event in our world, and an evil power appeared. Ever since then, creatures have started disappearing, and the human world has begun to turn darker. The blood moon is a warning: war is coming.”

  “So it’s not just for Halloween?” I asked, unable to contain myself, praying with all my might that this was the case.

  She laughed. The sound reminded me of a bell. “Halloween? No, this has nothing to do with that silly mortal celebration. The blood moon just happened to be on the same night.”

  So, I was not the only one who thought the celebration silly. Even the real creatures thought the same. At the mention of Halloween, the creatures’ expressions turned to one of mockery and whispers spread like wildfire. Studying them, I tried to convince myself they were real. Pinching my arm didn’t shake me awake from this dream, but it resulted in a mild pain instead. Conclusion: They must be real. I imagined Diane would love this. I, on the other hand, was not. My brain was trying to fathom what I had denied for the largest part of my life—supernatural beings were real and not just stories your parents told you about at bedtime. Being armed only with logic, it was impossible to find a balance.

  I watched the creatures one by one. The witch was lighting candles with magic, the vampire was sipping a viscous red liquid from a glass—which I was certain was blood—Kristy was listening while flapping her wings, Jacques was back to playing with his orange knives while the other shapeshifters, focused their gazes on me. There were some other creatures too, but I couldn’t tell what they were.

  “That’s why we need the Believer,” the witch said in a loud voice, looking directly at me and startled, I blinked, focusing on the conversation.

  “Don’t look at me. I’m not a Believer or at least I wasn’t,” I said, holding my hands up. “I didn’t even know supernatural creatures existed a few minutes back! You have fangs, magical powers, wings, and I don’t know what else. I’m just a human.”

  “Who happened to use her amulet and opened the door to a magic land,” she said like she had not heard a word I said.

  “The amulet did it, not me.”

  “You did it,” the witch insisted. “The amulet was only the means, but the key was you. You opened the door to our world because you wanted to come here, something in our realm called to you.

  “The—” I started, but then stopped. “Jacques led me to this land.” The last thing I needed was another rabbit fight.

  “The legend says the Believer will save both the human and supernatural world from this evil and peace will reign once again,” the witch finished, not bothered by my sudden interruption.

  Jacques stopped playing with his knife for a moment and frowning, he studied me.

  The witch seemed to have a lot of faith in me even if I didn’t, but I didn’t want to give her false hope. “There must be some mistake. I can’t be the person you’re looking for,” I said, trying not to lose it. This was a lot to take in. My whole life, I had been a regular person and now I found myself in an unknown, and dangerous world. I had almost been bitten by a vampire and on top of that, these creatures expected things that I couldn’t do. “I’m just a normal person and have no powers.”

  She opened her arms. “It’s your calling, Violet. You’re meant for this even if you don’t believe in the supernatural. Believe in yourself.”

  “Are we sure we need her? She does seem set in her ways,” Jacques said and the witch’s eyes fell on him. “I’m just saying, she doesn’t look like she’s the great hero we are all expecting.” He shrugged his shoulders and continued turning the knife in his hands.

  “It is her,” the witch said without a shred of doubt. “You can do this,” she said, looking directly at me and I wondered why she had such faith in me.

  Before I could respond, the earth vibrated, and everyone looked around concernedly. The lights flickered, and the furniture shook as if a great invisible hand moved them. I turned to the creatures, but everyone had frozen in place.

  “It’s coming!” the vampire hissed, spilling his drink.

  Darkness poured from the windows of the building and everyone was on their feet. Chaos reigned while everyone tried to either fight back or run.

  “Run!” Kristy pulled me by the hand, and we ran towards the exit, but we couldn’t leave, the darkness had already surrounded us. I heard screams and taking a glimpse I saw that whoever touched the darkness, had disappeared without a trace.

  Chapter 3: The Enchanted Forest

&nbs
p; I panicked. “What are we going to do?”

  “If we can’t go down to the exit, we’ll have to go up!” She placed her arms around me and we flew up so fast, I almost saw double. We escaped through the chimney and Kristy continued flying, but reduced her speed.

  “Where are we going?” I said, taking in the scenery. From above, things looked worse than when I was in the ground . The darkness had surrounded the Blessed Realm; however, you could see some patches of greenery here and there, fighting back. All was not lost yet.

  “To the woods, we’ll be safe there. At least for a while.”

  “What else is true about fairies?” I tried to make light conversation so I could forget about why I was here or the messy situation. It seemed that everything was part of their plan to bring me here so I could help fight this evil but I couldn’t do anything.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall,” she said, and I realized I had been holding her very tightly. I loosened my grip as she continued, “fairies are born from a human and a fairy, our wings aren’t always visible, and our eyes are usually the color of our wings.”

  “And these drawings on your arms?” Along the length of her arms, silver drawings adorned her skin with silver dust dotting the rest.

  “These symbols appear on our skin from the moment we are born. They symbolize that we are fairie and depending on which type of magick we command, the symbols have different forms and colors. Silver is for air.” She paused. “When there are no symbols, it means the baby is human. In that case, we find them a good home in the human world. It’s safer for them and the natural way of doing things.”

  This fact left me awed, and I wanted to ask more questions, but seeing her sad face, I decided against it. I tried to remember what I knew about fairies. “How about singing or driving people mad?”

  She laughed wholeheartedly and I couldn’t understand the reason. “Just because someone wrote a book about it or made a movie doesn’t mean it’s true. That’s why they call it fantasy, right?” I blushed, embarrassed, but she continued to smile. I guess from her point of view, it was hilarious. “Fairies are good. We’re born in the Enchanted Forest and when we’re old enough, we relocate and blend into the human world. We spread love and kindness among humans.” She landed softly into the grass and helped me regain my balance.