© ItalRT4u, 2012

     Walking home, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed.  Thinking about what Carly had told me about being a succubus, wondering if I'd ever find a happy balance like my parents had; if I'd ever have a sense of normalcy.  What is normal anyway?  I suppose it's what we make it be, right?  Until that fateful night where my parents had been stripped from me, I had no concept that it was actually truthful that there were people out there out for our kind; you know, the freaks if I can so mildly put it. 

     I still don't know how I managed to survive that night, lying in my mother's blood but I somehow couldn't shake the words out of my father's mouth, six years ago when I had learned of my fate.

     “There will be a time to run, and a time to fight.”  He told me.

     “Why fight?  Why run?  What are you not telling me Dad?”  I asked him, slightly irritated at this riddle of theirs.  My mother and father exchanged a worried look.

     “Some people, some of our kind, more specifically, are looking for more power over the humans.”  He explained.  “We call them hunters.  They find themselves going after those that have multiple 'gifts' because it's a 'kill two birds with one stone' approach.  It's quicker, leads to less bloodshed but they won't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in their way either.”

     “I get that they're after power but what do they expect to do with it really?”  I asked of them.

     “You have to understand that this world is delicate in the way that it is balanced.  There is a purpose to each of our gifts.  It may never be fully known from the beginning and some are easier to tame and to accept.”  My father told me and I knew he was referring to my empathic abilities comparatively to the ones I am to receive on the day of my twenty-first birthday.

     “I don't see anything positive coming out of sucking someone's life force out of them.”  I mumbled with an air of resentment.

     “You speak of it all as if it were a curse.”  My mother's eyes watered.  I could tell she blamed herself.

     “Isn't it, though?”  My voice mixed with a certain degree of disdain.

     “If you look at it that way, Sweetheart, that's all you'll ever see it as.”  She tells me as she reached for my clasped hands that sat on the table-top.  “In the human world, you'd be revered as a freak.  In the Fae world, you represent all things youthful, loving, and beautiful.  Our purpose is not always known from the beginning but yours will come to you all in good time.”

     “But can't you tell me what it is?”  I asked them.

     “We can't.  To do so could alter the final outcome.”  My father explained.

     “Outcome?”  I asked puzzled.  My father nodded as I studied his face, waiting for him to elaborate on that statement.

     “Yes, the outcome.  When the time comes, you'll know more; but until then, please don't push for answers you cannot yet fully understand my baby girl.”  My father tells me.

     I heard the steps quickening behind me and knew that I was indeed being followed.  I must have been ten minutes from my house.  Despite my aching feet, something told me to run and see if I could lose this person.  I had no inclination of looking back to see who this person was.  I put foot to pavement and raced like my life depended on it.  I cut through an alley and headed back the way I came before cutting through a side street, hiding behind a dumpster.  When I figured I had waited long enough, I came out of my hiding spot and walked out; only to hear the quickening of those same steps behind me again.  Taking off like a bat out of hell, I sprinted away, only to turn a corner and crash into what felt like a brick wall which I bounced off of and landed flat on my ass onto the sidewalk.

     Two strong hands picked me up and sat me back down on my feet as I tried to dart off, looking behind me, worried that my follower would manage to succeed at catching up to me with whatever his or her purpose was.

     Realizing that I wasn't going anywhere fast with this strong grip on my arms, I began to twist and see if I could free myself.

     “Let go!”  I shouted, busy looking behind me, the feel of panic becoming too overwhelming.

     “Calm down, Payton.”  I hear.  Snapping me out of my freak-fest, I collapsed into him.  Almost immediately, I remembered my parents’ heedful warning of these hunters never stopping until they got what they wanted.  I scrambled out of his arms and yanked on his shirt, attempting to drag him along with me but he wasn't budging.

     Why couldn't I be gifted with superhuman strength with all of this bullshit?  I thought to myself. 

     It definitely would have come in handy.

     “We have to go.  Now!”  I told him but he held his ground.  “I have to get away.”

     “Get away from whom?  Payton, there's no one there.”  He grabbed my face between his hands and forced me to look at him.

     Mr. Bright Eyes looked deep into my eyes.  I never expected it to be him but somehow, the minute our eyes made contact, I calmed; my wits being regained.

     “Can I let you go now?”  He asked me, still holding onto the sides of my face, his eyes not straying from mine.

     “Yeah.”  I said, taking a deep breath.  Could his eyes really be that blue?  I mean, they were glowing like sapphires.  Finally able to pry my eyes from his, I smiled, slightly embarrassed.

     “Can I walk you home?”  He offered.

     “Sure.”  I say trying to make sense of his calming effect over me.

     It turns out that Mr. Bright Eyes has a name; Cane Nottingham as it happens.  I spent our entire walk, listening to him talk, learning more about him.  It was more than he would ever know about me but for my own good, I knew it had to be that way.  He moved to the city a year ago, to help out his grandmother while he finished his last year of college.  He fully admitted to having a quirky family but he loved them despite those eccentricities.

     “I know they mean well but sometimes, I swear, the stork brought me because I'm not like any one of them.”  He finished.

     “I'm sure you're more like them than you think.”  I tell him.

     “Aside from physical similarities, you'd never know we were related.”  He stated with a light chuckle. 

     Before I knew it, we were standing at my front door and I was toying with the idea of inviting him in.

     “So I guess I owe you big time for sure now.”  I blurted out.

     “It's nothing.  Don't worry 'bout it.”  He told me.

     “Says the guy who's always around to save my butt when I need saving.”  I teased him.  “You truly have a hero complex, don't you?”

     “Not really.”  He paused and studied my reaction.  “I just happen to be there every time you fall.”

     “Charmer.”  I chuckled.

     “I try.”  He shrugged his shoulders, trying to portray a perfect picture of innocence which made me laugh.

     After a few more minutes of rather comical and enjoyable banter, Cane decided to back away.  I watched him leave as he turned and pretended to tip his hat off to me in a gentlemanly gesture of farewell.  I giggled to myself as I shut my front door and bolted it.

     Moments later, I couldn't ignore what had happened earlier, prior to haphazardly running into Cane.  I picked up my cell and dialed Carly's number figuring I'd be best giving her fair warning as to my adventure after leaving her house.  After three tries, she never did pick up her phone.  Call me a worry-wart, tell me it's my head playing games, or simply women's intuition but something wasn't sitting right with me.  The all too familiar feeling of being watched had returned...

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