𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐀

 

I had always been told the full moon brings out the crazy, that it had an unmistakably weird pull on people. It was a saying from old Roman times. One of the philosophers believed the full moon caused more dew to form and it increased moisture to our brains, causing many to go mad. But there are few other tales that come from the moon. Most have been scientifically proven wrong over the centuries but if they had been real, I would be willing to bet I lost my wit.

   My mind had convinced me someone was watching. Since leaving the diner eyes had been drilled into the back of my head with such intensity it rattled my bones. Everytime I turned back nobody was there. I could have been imagining it but the click of heels against cement always returned.

   Not feeling like dying tonight I quickened my step. The sooner I got home the better. No killer — real or fake — could be that committed, right?

   The apartment was near but so were the clicking heels. I strained my ears to hear any other indicator for who could be trailing me. At least if this was an attempted murder and I lived through it, I could identify them. Maybe.

   Peeking over my shoulder once more I finally saw a silhouette of a woman then two more appeared at either side of her, both male. My heart hammered against my chest as I faced forward and instead of speed walking I ran. I've seen enough movies to know three figures standing menacingly in the dark was not a good sign.

   By the time I reached the door my hands were shaking and breathing as if I just ran a marathon when in reality it was a block or two. The key missed the lock a couple times but I finally got it open and slammed it shut behind me, quickly locking the top and bottom before putting a chair under the knob for extra safety.

   "Everything is fine, Morana." I muttered to myself, steadily moving into my kitchen and flipping the lights on as I went. "Nobody is there." I took a deep breath in and exhaled, sliding my bag off my shoulder and onto the counter. "It's just my mind playing tricks on me."

   "Do you often imagine hot women?" I froze. The voice was soft and raspy but laced with an underlying seductive twang. A pleasant aftertaste to a cigarette.

"Turn around, Morana."

   With fear coursing through my veins I did as she said, coming face to face with an otherworldly beauty. The woman had a fair complexion with vibrant green eyes, ones that looked remarkably like emeralds surrounded by a golden outer layer. Her face was too symmetrical and the pearly smile stretching her cherry painted lips made her all the more enthralling.

   "Are you going to kill me?" Award for being the dumbest victim goes to, oh would you look at that, me.

   The woman sat herself beside my bag, going through its contents lazily. "Not if you beg a little."

   "Gillian that's enough." Another voice had me seriously begging anyone listening to spare my life. This one was authoritative and gruff. Almost like he had a sore throat. He stood on the other side of the counter that led into the living room, another man beside him.

  "Nobody is here to kill you Ms. Croft." His tone held a promise.

   "Ms. Croft? Barf with the formality, can't we just call her Morana or Mor. Maybe even Little Runner?"

   "She's not a pet." The other man glared at Gillian.
   The buffest of the two spoke again, this time with an introduction. "You can call me Professor Castor and these two idiots are Gillian and Theron. We've come a long way so why don't we sit and discuss this visit?"

  "Or, just throwing this out there. You three leave or I call the cops." I was shocked my words hadn't wavered. My hands shook at my sides but who could be composed with strangers breaking into their home? If I wasn't holding onto the edge of the marble top I'm sure my ass would be curled in a ball on the floor hoping that would protect me. But pretending to be strong and fearless was a lot better than possible attackers finding a weakness to exploit.

   Gillian, spoke again. "That's not how this is gonna work." She gave a fleeting glance at Theron, "we have our orders."

   The three made themselves at home as if this was completely normal behavior. Gillian pocketed a hard candy while pulling her legs up on the counter to make herself more comfortable while both Castor and Theron took over the loveseat. Leaving the beanbag beside my bookshelf vacant for me to sit.

   I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my ears. A cold sweat chilled my back as I hesitantly lowered myself into the cushioned cage. My tongue grew heavy with three sets of eyes zeroed in on me. I felt like I was being prosecuted for a crime I was unaware of committing.

   Castor cleared his throat while pulling out a phone. His fingers tapped along the screen, seconds later a hologram of a map took up the remaining space between us. It showed all of San Francisco but what stuck out to me — besides the fact a fucking hologram was in my livingroom — was a single glowing silver dot in Fremont.

   "This is you." He elaborated, "Any dot that shows up on this map is Fae and needs to be collected. Anyone of Fae descent found on the mortal plane is brought to Polaris to teach them our ways. If the Fae in question is of age they — you — will be placed in Asterial Academy for proper education."

   "Uh," I couldn't form a single thought with all that information. Fae? A special Academy? Polaris? These people were definitely on a drug I wanted no part of. "Polaris is a star not some made-up world. And the Fae, seriously?" I refused to believe anything this guy had to say. See this is why I should have just listened to my mother about going out at night. Don't.

   "You obviously read a lot, use your brain." Gillian rolled her eyes while strutting out of the kitchen like she was on the Red Carpet. "Three people come to steal away a poor "mortal" girl to a land far away and dump her in a prestigious academy for the Fae of all guilds. Sound familiar?"

   Theron pulled a planfit from his back pocket. "This might make it easier to understand." He tossed the wrinkled paper onto the glass table between us, making a small ripple through the hologram.
   Gingerly my fingers swept it into my grasp. On the cover was a castle that reminded me of the sort of thing you'd only see on TV or in a poor person's (my) boarding school dreams. The exterior was dark, gothic-esque but with a beautiful lawn. It looked nothing out of the ordinary till I opened the planfit. Inside were pictures of different houses; Terra, Aquar, Aer, and Ignis. The Latin words for the main four elements. Each one fit the name perfectly.

   Terra was decorated with moss along the roof and flowers blooming in all directions. Mushrooms lined a stone path to the double doors, I could even see shining crystals framing the doors in an array of colors.

   Aquar was surrounded by a large body of clear water. A stone bridge connected the two pieces of land keeping the house afloat. The outside resembled an extravagant fountain but there were no pictures for detail of the inside.

   Next was Aer. This one was shaped like a tower like whoever built it wanted to be above everyone else. It too was made of stone but had nothing that really stood out about it. The only detail that piqued my interest would be the harpy statue in the courtyard.

   Last was Ignis, the eyesore of campus. The exterior had been made of red bricks surrounded by a ring of never ending fire. The grass was dead but that is to be expected when fire is involved.

   "Amazing photoshop skills, but I'm not buying this." I dropped the planfit into my lap, concluding this as a silly joke. "You should really leave now."

   Castor pressed his lips into a thin line, the muscle in his jaw ticking. He breathed in with clenched fists that were let go moments later as if he were trying to reel himself in. "Keep reading."

   "No, I don't want to play this game." If these people wanted me dead I would have been the second Gillian was in my personal space earlier. Hopefully.

   Gillian was in front of me at lightning speed. Her once perfect teeth took on two sharp points at opposite sides of her mouth. Fangs. Fucking hell. Please don't tell me I need to start wearing a garlic necklace. "This isn't a game, Sunshine." She hissed with bitterness. "This is our lives."

   "Gillian, the Council wanted this to be as smooth as possible. Looming over the poor girl won't get us anywhere." Theron chastised his companion.
   "She reads fantasy books but isn't believing us!? Please, this is pointless."

   Castor stood from my couch, pushing Gillian away from me and over to Theron, who steadied her with his outstretched leg. "If you believed the things you read, what would you assume Gillian is?" The professor asked in a kinder voice.

   "A vampire." I wasn't naive enough to believe they were real though. Gillian being in front of me as quickly as she had been could have easily been diluted to the fact I'm in shock from my apartment being broken into. The fangs were clearly prosthetics. There's an answer to everything. "But since this is the real world, she's just a psycho like you and the idiot hogging my couch."

   Ignoring the aggravated grunts Castor nodded as if he were agreeing. "And what if we had solid proof?"

   Biting at the inside of my cheek I looked between the three. "Then I'd have to believe you, if it's solid evidence and not something like Gillian's tacky dollar store fangs."

   "Excuse me!?" Theron pulled Gillian down onto the couch and kept her in place beside him, a scowl taking over his unearthly features. If it was because of my comment or having to touch the woman, I had no clue.

   Castor wasted no time in flicking his hand out, a bright ball of fire secured in the palm of his hand. It looked like one of the tricks from the magic shows my mom took me to as a kid. But I could feel the heat of the flame grazing my cheeks. My mouth hung open while my fingers itched to feel the licks of the heat against them. Wanting to know just how painful it would be to allow Castor's fire to consume me.

   Turning, he threw the flame in Gillian's direction but seconds before it could make contact with her skin it disappeared as a glimmering dome surrounded the couch, protecting her.

   I glanced over to where Theron had his own hand stretched out and a murderous glare fixed on the professor. Gillian, however, didn't appear fazed by the threat of Castor. If anything she looked bored while her hand wrapped around Theron's wrist to force his hand down. The dome followed.

   "Convinced now?" Castor asked. I desperately wished this could have been fake. The whole ordeal. It wouldn't have been the first time my mind forced me to live through a lucid fantasy and believed it to be real. But not even my subconscious could fake the remnants of magic in the air.

   All I could do was nod silently. My mouth felt dry while it was still hung agape from what I had just witnessed. Should I have been screaming right now? Maybe I would've been but Gillian was right, I have read many books where magic existed and in every single one of them the Fae coming for the mortal always made her believe in the unexpected. But I didn't want to be her. I'm completely human. One who just wanted to go to bed like none of this was happening.

   "Great now we can get back on track." The kindness vanished from his eyes and was replaced with the annoyance he had concealed. "Each Fae harnesses an element based around our star signs, the Marking is weaved into our wrists by the Fates at birth." I warily pulled the sleeve of my sweater up to show what I had always assumed was an odd birthmark. More than ten percent of people on this planet have birthmarks, some stranger than others. I just thought I was part of the oddly shaped group. But the white Aquarius waves were in the exact same place as Castor's Aries ram.

   "So I can control air?" I drew in a shallow breath. When I was younger I used to entertain the idea of being something not of this world like most kids do after watching or reading anything that had to do with mystical abilities. But to hear this as an adult and going along with it? I felt like a crazy person. Maybe the moon really does make people go mad. "What am I supposed to be, if not human?"

   "Definitely not a vampire." Gillian mused, "You don't have the nerve to stomach the taste of blood."

   "I don't want to be a walking corpse anyway."

   Gillian pulled a face that I guess showed she was offended, she even placed a hand over her heart for the dramatic effect. "Y'know vampires aren't actually dead right? You people got all your stories twisted. Vampires are born in Polaris with beating hearts and breath in our lungs."

   "We don't know what you are, but you'll learn soon enough." Castor shrugged me off like telling me everything I thought I knew was wrong, meant very little to him. "Headmistress Draconis will explain more once we arrive."

   "I never agreed to going with you lunatics." Leaving with a bunch of strangers to a world filled with unknown territory and freaks with magical powers? As fun as that sounds, no thank you. I happened to like my mundane life of eating, reading, and sleeping. In that order.

   Polaris might exist. Elemental powers and the Fae too, but why would I want to leave everything I have ever known. Leave behind the people I love?

   "I can't just up and go without telling my mom, and what about work?" I began. "I have a life here!"

   A look passed between the three Fae. One I could tell only annoyed Gillian more than she already was. She opened her mouth but before she could speak Castor shook his head. Silencing her.

   Theron held an unreadable expression as he stared at me from where I remained seated. Despite being in his presence for awhile now, I was getting a good look at him. The icy feeling of fear had left my veins and instead everything felt warm all over. His eyes that lacked emotion were a breathtaking shade of amber. They seemed to darken the longer silence went on.

   I broke the stare first with a cough to try and cover how awkward I felt under his scrutiny. Feeling Gillian's glare on the side of my face I decided focusing on Castor was my safest option here. Though maybe I was wrong. He too was glaring at me but more out of displeasure versus Gillian's fury.

   "We understand that but we can't return to our own till you come with us." I half expected him to throw me over his shoulder kicking and screaming but he stayed in the same spot he had been since the beginning of this discussion. He was keeping himself from moving, the tick in every visible muscle was evident enough.

  "Headmistress Draconis will write to your mother as the dean of a university off grid. This is not the first time the Council has brought in a Fae from the mortal plane. You'll be able to stay in contact with your mother but only after everything is settled." Castor looked anywhere but at me, like he was hiding something.

   Then again, all the Fae in this room were. Those silent looks shared between them was starting to piss me off.

   "And if you don't come willingly then darling Theron here will have to force you along," Gillian's grin sent the bucket of ice water soaking me completely.