Chapter 9 #2
“If that’s what some want, I’m not the person to question it, but it’s just simpler here. More people focused. That’s the point I’m trying to make.”
“I can understand that. So many people are always saying they wish we could go back to the ‘good times’, when things were easier. Here, you’ve never left those times. You still live your lives like it’s the early 1900s.”
Boon nodded as he stood there with his hands shoved in his pockets.
He looked around again, his mind filling his head with memories of the area that used to house the Dragon Tree, and now held Lily and Carrik’s house, on the exact spot the Dragon Tree once stood.
“A lot of things happened in this clearing.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you about them sometime, but for now, how about we go take a look at our house?”
“Your house,” Angelle said.
“Still don’t believe me, huh?” he asked, as he held his hand out toward the porch steps that led to the ground.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that it’s your house. I’ve never even been here before.”
“It was a hut until I realized I was bringing you home to a hut. Only then did I bother to make it something worth presenting you with.”
“You know, the hut would have been okay, too.”
“No, it was just a roof to throw my stuff under, and a small one at that. You will never have to make do with just okay.”
As they stepped onto the soft, green grass, Boon turned to his right, leading the way to a path not too far away that would take them through the woods.
Minutes later, Boon reached for her hand just as they moved past the tree line.
“This is one of many trails crisscrossing through the woods. Easy enough to follow, but stay close, though.”
“Is it dangerous?” Angelle asked.
“Not exactly. I mean, we’re just off the swamps and the further south you go, the more swampy the land gets.
But you never know, creatures wander in from time to time.
Most stay away, our scents and the activity of people civilizing an area are usually enough to deter them. It’s still the woods, though.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good. That’s not exactly what I meant, though.”
“Oh…”
“I said stay close, but really, it’s just because I like you close.”
Following closely behind Boon, Angelle smiled to herself, held more tightly to his hand, and followed him while her eyes darted everywhere, taking in all the beauty of the land around them.
As they walked, he explained where they were in relation to other families’ homes, more or less.
“If you head off through those trees to your left, you’ll eventually run across some other homes, the farthest of which are Enthrall’s on one side and Destroy’s on the other.
Their houses flank a large clearing. It’s a very large area, and special occasions are often celebrated there because there’s room for everyone with a fire for warmth in the middle, and plenty of space to set up tables for food and drink and room for the kids to play. ”
“It sounds really nice. I look forward to attending one.”
Boon snickered.
“What is so funny?”
“No, you don’t. You don’t mind meeting people a few at a time, but you don’t want to go to a celebration where everyone is celebrating all at once.”
Angelle’s smile was sudden and bright. The fact that he really did ‘get’ her made her unreasonably happy. “But I would go, as long as you stayed beside me.”
“I will always be beside you.”
“Then I’ll go.”
They were quiet for a few more moments before he looked off to his right.
“If you go that way, that’s where most of our community lives.
So many different families. Some further east, some further west, but all south of here.
My parents’ home is there, too; closer to Lily’s house, but still south of there. ”
“Are there worn paths through the woods, or is it all just memory that keeps you going in the right direction?”
“Occasionally paths get worn, but then Terrus makes the grasses and the shrubs overgrow them again.”
“Why?” Angelle asked. “And who is Terrus?”
“Terrus is Lore’s brother. He’s got powers like Lily and Tempest and Lore.
And Lore’s and Terrus’ sister is Lucitari.
Her magics are more associated with the going ons of the heavens and the air itself.
Terrus is more concerned with the earth and all her flora and fauna.
Lore is just concerned with whatever there is that interests him at the moment.
There was another brother, Acaelo. He was the oldest sibling.
The strongest of them all, but he went insane with power — among other things — and had to be removed. ”
“That’s sad. And all his magics died with him.”
“Oh, no. Lily helped fight him. He did not go quietly. In the end, she took Acaelo’s powers into herself.
She was just a child, when she helped vanquish Acaelo and save Lore.
Lore was his primary target. Because she was so young, she was only able to take so much of his magics into herself.
But as she grew and matured more and more of Acaelo’s powers were siphoned from the other siblings into her.
She also received parts of their magics as well, and is now the strongest of all of them.
But there must always be four to perfectly balance things among the elements. ”
“What exactly are the four siblings? I mean, species-wise,” Angelle asked.
“They’re the four original elementals. They keep the world in balance.
Air, earth, water and fire. Air would be Lucitari and all that lives there.
Earth would be Terrus. Water would be Lore — in fact when he was without a corporal body, he often spent days and weeks near Enthrall’s fishing shack by the shoreline. It was the only peace he got.”
“Then Acaelo would be fire.”
“Exactly. But like I said, Acaelo was the strongest and tended to be more hands on in all their areas of the world, rather than keeping to his own responsibilities. I think they could always do whatever they wanted or needed, but deferred to one another in certain instances out of respect for their particular responsibilities. Lily, like I said is the strongest of them all now, though she’s not an original Elemental.
And Tempest got her magics from Lily, passed down from mother to daughter. ”
“That’s fascinating.”
“It is. They all work in harmony now. They each have a responsibility for a particular portion of balance, and they depend on the other three to do their part to keep things as they should be.”
“So, they’re ancient — the oldest of the old. They’ve seen everything.”
“They have.”
“How was Lily chosen to be one of the four?”
“She was Lore’s daughter once upon a time. Cursed by Acaelo to be reincarnated through time to live punished over and over again for Lore’s actions against him.”
“Oh, my God! That’s horrible.”
“She doesn’t remember most of it. And to her, her father will always be our father, Carnage. But she does have a special bond with Lore. He’s now our Uncle Lore, but they’re more, somehow.”
“I think I understand. I thought our clan and our people were unbelievable. But yours, it’s literally magic. Everything is suffused with ancient magic and people that none of my world believe exist, or ever existed.”
“You’ll be surprised at all the people who live in our community.”
“More fascinating than the Elementals?” Angelle asked.
“Some. We’ve got Anton and Gaston — they are Gator shifters.
And Enthrall — he leads our community — is a Vampire, as is his family.
But I think I already told you about him.
Then there’s Destroy — he’s a Gargoyle and served under my father in their military.
He helps Enthrall keep the community safe and just. Destroy’s mate is a witch.
And then Aubreigne… Aubreigne is unique.
Her mother was a Siren, and her father was a demon.
She’s mated to… that’s a long, long story, but let’s just say he’s a Gregorian priest who was lured into an eternity he didn’t bargain for.
He was saved by Aubreigne and several of our people and they have been happy since.
Aubreigne’s daughter, Deaumanique, and Enthrall’s son, Shane, are mated.
Then there’s Simon and his mate, Serafina, they’re, well, they’re just unique.
They have gills on their upper necks just below their ears.
They are as at home in the water as they are on the land.
They have two children, who have grown up and mated others in our community.
Oh, I can’t forget Brannaugh. He’s a Dark Fey.
And Dima, he’s become my father’s best friend. He’s a really good male.”
“Is Dima a Fey also?”
“No, Dima is what I think you’d call Sasquatch.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m serious.”
“I didn’t think they were real.”
“No one does. That’s part of how they stay hidden.”
“And I’m sure you’ll meet Odin, too. Odin is a good male, though he has a hard time believing it. He encountered a lot of prejudice over the course of his life, but he’s not bad. I promise.”
“What is Odin?”
“He’s an Ice Demon.”
Boon glanced over his shoulder and chuckled at the expression on her face. “You’ll see. You’ll eventually meet him.”
“Is that everyone?” Angelle asked.
“I forgot to tell you about Murder. Murder is a Gargoyle and served beside my father. He was a General in the Gargoyles’ army as well.
He is mated to Lucitari. And that’s not all, but I’m sure it’s the basis of the community.
Most have had children who’ve all grown up and have mated and built their own lives, too.
Some have had children who grew up and moved away.
Except Lore. He’s never had a child. He and Evangeline never had kids. ”
“Is Evangeline human?”
“She is now. When he met her, she was an Angel. But that’s a whole other story, and part of the reason Lore was punished for a long, long time.”
“Now I’m pretty sure I’m good just staying home rather than going to a huge get together.”
“Why? They’re all very nice people,” Boon said.
“I’m sure they are. But, they all sound so otherworldly — their stories ones of awe. I’m just a boring human.”
“There is nothing boring about you. They’ll love you if you just treat them like they're the same as everyone else.”
“I hope so,” Angelle said. “What if your people don’t like me? I’m not good with people.”
“They don’t like me most of the time already, so it doesn’t really matter,” Boon answered.
“They don’t like you?” she asked, surprised.
“I think I make them nervous. But I don’t know, honestly. I never took the time to notice. I’m always respectful and when I have extra meat I always give it to those who need it, so I think they try to like me.”
“You help to feed their families. I’m sure they think very highly of you.”
“I guess. Though, now that I think of it, it would kind of be a good thing if they don’t like you, because then they wouldn’t be coming to visit all the time.”
Angelle laughed.
“What? What’s funny?” he asked.
“That you don’t want people to like me so they’ll stay away.”
“Works for me. No unwanted visitors that don’t know when their welcome has run out, and I get you all to myself, all the time.”
Angelle was still laughing a little as they changed direction and began to follow the edge of a bayou. “This is almost too big to be called a bayou,” she said.
“We widened and deepened the ones that were originally running through the area to allow for more water flow, and even to encourage fish to enter them and live in them.”
“It’s very impressive. And so pretty.”
“Thanks, I think so, too.”
About six more minutes of walking and they rounded a bend in the bayou and there before them a corner of land extended into the wide bend of the bayou. “Oh, wow! This is beautiful!”
“It’s always been my favorite fishing spot. My hut used to stand right out there practically on the waters’ edge. Now, our home sits here, but not as close to the water. Right over there.”
Angelle had been admiring the wide bayou and its slowly, yet steadily flowing water making its way past as a pair of white egrets waded in the water nearby scouring for food.
At Boon’s words her head jerked up and she followed his line of sight to the very large, very new home built several hundred feet back from the bayou.
Standing high enough, and far enough from the bayou to be safe from any overflow, but close enough to be able to look out over the bayou in both directions as it curved around the land, its bend seemingly caressing the land as it moved past.
“Boon, this is spectacular,” she whispered.
Beaming with pride, he gently pulled on her hand. “Come on, let me show you inside.”