Chapter Six
Hannah
Two days can go by in a hurry when you don’t want it to. I wanted to leave at the same time I didn’t. I held the calling shell in my hand. It was such a small thing, and very delicate. It looked like it belonged safely in a curio cabinet rather than in my hand. Jack told me how to use it to find our fourth siren. And I already knew what direction to go. I wished it would had given an exact location as to what town, state or even country. It only pointed in the direction we needed to go. I shook my head, and put the shell into the small case Jack had given me. I hoped that she, our fourth siren, wasn’t too far away, and at least still in the United States.
“Good news my ladies,” Jack sung as he came down the hallway and into the living room.
Sophie, Beannca and I were sitting on the couch finishing our coffee. Jack looked like a black velvet curtain had attacked him. He was dressed head to toe in the material. His pants were fitted, and a long coat swirled around his knees with a peek of a collared shirt underneath. On his head was a wide brimmed hat, complete with black feathers.
I raised my eyebrows as Sophie smiled at him.
“You didn’t have to go to so much trouble dressing so elaborately just to see us off,” Sophie said taking the final sip of her coffee.
“I’m going to a fashion show in Avalon, but more importantly, I found a way to get you to your fourth member of your tribe quicker.” Jack stood in front of us with his twinkling eyes. “You can use the portal here in the apartment. I will block it from the guardian’s ever watchful eye by mirroring its activity.” His smile deepened.
“They won’t even know it’s being used, and will provide you safe passage.” He shook his head, and let out a victorious sigh. “I do have to say, I never stop amazing myself.”
“But how do I work the shell in the portal? I haven’t even been through that many portals.” I stood up and looked at Jack as he adjusted his ridiculous hat.
“You have two portal connectors, so…” He looked at himself in the mirror that hung on the wall beside the door.
I stepped behind him, and crossed my arms. I could see my reflection in the mirror as Jack ignored me. “So,” I prompted him.
“Portal connections,” Jack said and seemed a bit distracted. “I’m sorry. I’m just overloaded right now. Let’s just get to the portal before I forget what I’m doing.”
“Right now?” I huffed. “We can’t just hop up and go like we’re going downtown to see a movie. It’s a portal that could lead us to something disastrous, and not to mention get caught by the guardians. How would you explain that if we all get caught?”
Jack flicked towards me with his hands. “Oh, don’t be so negative. I’ve been around not only this world, but several others that only a select few can have entry to.” He smiled with his pink tinged lips. Was he wearing lipstick? “I’m a professional, and this will be a walk in the park for me. I should’ve thought about it earlier. Now let’s go.”
“I don’t like leaving so abruptly like this,” Sophie said as she walked beside me down the dim hallway.
“I know,” I replied. “We could tell Jack that we changed our minds, and don’t want to go.”
I glanced at Sophie, and could almost see what she was thinking. We had a taste of our past, and a chance to go to a safe haven. We could live as we wanted, do as we wanted, and without the librarianship telling us what to do and where we had to live. And for me, I could live without constantly looking behind my back every second of the day. We had to make this work.
“Now, it’s simple,” Jack said standing beside the portal panel that was embedded in the wall. “Hannah, hold the shell in front of you, and you will feel it pull in the direction you want to go. “Sophie and Beannca, you will place your hands over the shell.” Jack looked at his wristwatch. “I’m going to be late for tea and crumpets with the fairies. They hate tardy guests. Oh well,”
“We put our hands over the shell, and then what?” Sophie asked.
Jack looked at us with a smile from under his black velvet feathered hat. “That’s it, dears.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Now step in the portal and do as I say. You are sirens. Where knowledge fails you, instinct will take over. Let go of your insecurities, and be who you are.”
I looked at Sophie, and then at Beannca. Her eyes were slightly red from under all of her makeup, and she hardly said anything to us this morning. I felt I should say something to her when the portal began to hum.
“Quick, get the shell out,” Sophie motioned towards the leather pouch I carried it in.
I held the crystal shell in my hand in front of me. It felt magnetic. Beannca and Sophie placed their hands inches from it as it began to glow.
“Jack,” Sophie looked at him and smiled as the portal grew in strength with swirling colors. “Thanks for everything.”
He smiled and tipped his obnoxious hat at us before the hallway, Jack, and our old way of life faded. There was no turning back now.
Mae
“I’m sorry, but that is how it works sometimes,” Maggie said on the other end of the phone line. “Nothing is certain, and all I can do is keep trying, that is, if you still want to.”
I twirled the phone cord around my finger. Nolan and I weren’t going to be parents anytime soon. “Yes, we do want to keep trying. How long until we find something out?” I asked in a hopeful voice.
“That’s another thing—we won’t. Everything will be by the seat-of-our-pants. I will let you know when something comes up.”
“Thanks Maggie, for everything.” I hung up the phone, and looked over at Nolan.
“She shouldn’t have been so positive about everything. Maggie said that we’d be parents, and she could make it happen for us. She really basically lied to us, and led us on.” Nolan sat at the kitchen table with his shaking hands around his coffee mug.
I went over to him, wrapped my arms around him, and placed my cheek to his as I stood behind him. “Maggie didn’t lie or lead us on. How did you expect this to work? It isn’t even legal. Things aren’t going to happen with a snap of our fingers.” I sat down in the chair next to Nolan and ran my finger over his. “It didn’t happen today, and probably won’t happen tomorrow, but it will happen for us one day.”
Nolan gazed at me with his blue eyes. His hands quit trembling, and I felt the air around us calm as we sat in silence. Suddenly, the sunlight that streamed into our tiny kitchen faded. Thunder rumbled so strong that it rattled our windows, and even inside my chest. Nolan went to the window, and then grabbed his raincoat.
“Looks like a storm, Mae,” he said and put on his boots. “I’m going to go and put the tractor away.”
“I just put a load of laundry on the line.” I got up as well, and grabbed my basket.
Nolan went to go get the tractor as I scrabbled to remove the clothespins from my towels and sheets, and shove them into my basket. I silently cursed at the storm. I wanted to get my laundry dried, I wanted it to be a nice day, and…I wanted to have someone call me mom.
I had one more clothes line to go of several towels when the wind violently picked up. The sky swirled, and clouds churned in grey masses as I looked up at them. I felt their turmoil, their erratic emotions, and desire to destroy. It was like something was materializing in it. It was forming into something solid, something that could process thoughts, feelings, and wants. Was it human, entity or something conjured by some distraught member of the enchanted community? I had never felt this way with the weather before. I had felt a connection to the storm, but did storms have feelings? They consisted of wind, rain, and lightning, not emotions. This was a different kind of storm, one I was drawn to.
Lightning flashed, and the wind blew harder. I let my clothes basket slip from my hands to the ground as I kept my eyes on the encroaching storm. It didn’t belong here in Deadwood, Kansas.
I glared at the boiling clo
uds as the thunder groaned at me, and lightning warned me with each flash. Trees bent, nearly to the breaking point, my towels blew through the yard and tumbled through the garden. The wind pushed me, but I wasn’t giving in. The angry shades of grey clouds began to coordinate themselves into a rotating movement. I’ve seen it many times living here, and I wasn’t the least bit frightened to run into the cellar. It was a tornado, and it was headed towards our little white farm house.
I raised my arms, leaves rushed around me like snow, the howl of the wind challenged me, and I was ready for it.
“Mae, get in the house!” Nolan ran towards me, but I pushed him away.
“No, it can’t have our home!” I screamed over the rush of the wind.
I could clearly see the twister in the distance. It plucked trees from the ground, leveled the old barn in the pasture ground, and like a spoiled child, it turned towards us. Nolan tried to get me to go inside, but I stayed ignoring his pleading voice. He knew what I was, and that I was powerful when I wanted to be. I had no intentions of challenging a storm, but I felt threatened. And I wasn’t going to let it take what we had worked hard for.
My feet were solidly planted on the ground, and my hands held high with fingers spread. It was a massive thing, and I was merely a speck of dirt in its way. I kept my eyes on it, and like a scolding parent to a tantrum-throwing toddler, I didn’t budge, and prepared to show it who was in control.
Trees that could bend no more broke off, and were hurled through the air along with other debris that churned around Nolan and me. It was like we were in a black soup being stirred with dashes of lightning and thunder. Nolan stood behind me, and wrapped his arms around my waist. I could barely hear him yell as the grey twister took Nolan’s truck and tossed it through the air like a toy.
I felt hot anger rush through me, and I wanted to fight with even hotter anger towards it, but suddenly an idea shot through my head. Nolan and I were surrounded by flying debris, and I knew much damage would be done if I didn’t do something fast.
Anger only fed anger, hate only fed hate, and there was only one thing I could do to stop this destructive monster. I closed my eyes, relaxed my arms, and held them out towards the twister. I didn’t feel fear, hate or anger. Instead, I released a very opposite emotion—love.
Just as the twister raged havoc on our barn, it suddenly let out a groan, and slowed releasing the remaining debris from its angry grip.
Nolan and I stood among the bits of wood, metal, and tree limbs. We gazed up at the parting sky as the sun burned through the grey clouds. I smiled with relief.
“Mae,” Nolan said my name timidly. “Are you alright?”
I turned and wrapped my arms around him. “Yes, but our barn isn’t.”
“What was that? What did you do? Tornadoes don’t just stop like that.” Nolan asked.
I didn’t know how to explain what I had just done. I was still processing things in my head and trying to fathom the amount of power I used. “It must be a siren thing.” I shrugged my shoulders and smiled.
The sun’s rays cut through the grey clouds like slender daggers that brushed against the countryside. I wasn’t scared of anything at that moment. I new wave of confidence filled me.
I looked at our partially destroyed barn as Nolan went over and started the cleanup. Like church bells announcing the beginning of mass, a sudden realization washed over me. I had a purpose to me being here, a desire to find something, and to not only help it, but also myself. Something distant and forgotten was calling me, and I wasn’t sure what it was.
Sophie
Whispers of inaudible voices whisked past my ears like fleeing birds. I tried to focus on them, but they came and went so fast, it was impossible to make sense of them. I’ve never connected with a portal before, only traveled in them. I could only guess that Beannca had no experience as well, but somehow it felt natural to me. I had no training, no instruction, and yet as my hands hovered over the calling shell, I felt a sudden connection to the portal. It had a soul, a spirit, and maybe its own personality that I never realized before. Portals were nothing but charming lights, humming noises, and ways of traveling long distances in a short amount of time. I never thought them any different, until now.
Beannca and I didn’t speak as the colors swirled and lights flashed just like they always did in a portal. I worried about Hannah. She hadn’t been through many portals, and the last one we went through frightened her. I hoped she could keep her wits about her, and guide us to wherever we needed to be to find our fourth siren.
Slowly, I felt the energy of the portal fade. My hand felt weak, but not as bad as Beannca’s. Her hand shook, and I thought I heard her whimpering.
“Beannca, are you alright?” I asked as the humming of the portal wound down.
She rubbed her hand, and took in a deep breath. “Yes, I’m fine. Just didn’t know it was going to be like that.”
I smiled at her. “I know it was amazing. I didn’t think it would be that way. It was like it had its own personality, like it was a living thing. I felt I could almost ask it what its name was. ” Beannca half smiled back at me. I could tell her experience wasn’t as mind blowing as mine. “What did you feel?” I asked.
“Instead of having a group discussion on what we felt, we should find out where the heck we are.” Hannah glanced back at us, and then stepped off the portal platform.
I was caught up in my experience with the portal that I almost forgot our task.
“It looks like we landed in someone’s basement,” Beannca said stepping down and onto the dust covered floor.
The room was small and smelled musty, just like a basement with no ventilation. It looked like no one had come down here in ages. Shelves of disorganized books, boxes, and crates lined the walls covered in cobwebs with dust hanging from them like garland on a Christmas tree. Even the spiders didn’t live here anymore.
The only light that illuminated the room was from the portal, and that began to fade. I quickly reached into my purse, and pulled out a flashlight.
“Good thinking,” Hannah said grabbing my flashlight.
“So I take it that you’re going to lead the way, and if anything jumps out, you’ll be the first one deal with it.” I raised my eyebrows and stepped off the platform with Beannca nearly glued to my shoulder.
“Nothing will jump out at us. If they were, they’d have done it by now.” Hannah replied even toned. “I’m guessing we landed in a library somewhere with an out of commission portal.” She shone the flashlight around the small room. “Maybe we are in an old archives room,” she said walking over to the opposite wall. “There has to be a door here somewhere.
I joined her search for a doorway between the shelves that lined the walls. Beannca held the flashlight as we searched in hopes of a way out of this mysterious room. With my hands covered in cobwebs, I finally found a tiny knob.
“Here, Beannca, the flashlight.” I motioned for her to shine it in the tiny corner.
Immediately, the light bounced back at us, and nearly blinded me. Two shadowy silhouettes stood in front of us as Beannca screamed, and dropped the light. I quickly retrieved it, and shone it in front of us.
“It’s alright,” I sighed with my heart returning to my chest. “It’s only Hannah’s, Sophie’s, and Beannca’s reflection staring back at them.” I had to chuckle to myself.
“It’s a mirrored door,” Hannah said standing in front of it. She then reached for the knob that protruded out from it.
“Wait,” I grabbed her hand. “What if it’s no ordinary door and we aren’t in some library’s basement?” I questioned as Hannah’s eyes met mine.
“Who else would have portals?” Beannca asked standing behind us examining the dingy mirror.
“Collectors,” Hannah said. “They would be the only ones to have portals, especially hidden away like this and covered in this much crap.” She stepped b
ack. I shone the flashlight around the room again reassessing it.
“How do we get out?” Beannca’s voice slightly quivered.
I took in a deep breath and glanced at Hannah over my shoulder. “Unless someone here has the ability to burrow through walls, we go through the glass door.”
Beannca
I hated cobwebs, dirt, musty smells, and confined places. And right now I was surrounded by all four. I about had my fill of adventure with everything from the portal to this tiny room filled with dust and cobwebs.
Sophie seemed to have some kind of enlightenment with the portal, while I felt it was scolding me like I shouldn’t be here manipulating it. But that was over now, and I hoped I didn’t have to deal with it again.
“Well then, open it,” I said as I reached for the knob and turned it.
“Beannca,” Hannah and Sophie said my name in unison.
I stepped past them, and drew in a deep breath of refreshing air. I couldn’t see what was in front of me, but I didn’t care. I was out of that tiny coffin, and in a much bigger room with tall, slender windows.
Hannah and Sophie stepped out and stood beside me. We gazed around the dimly lit room as grey clouds skidded across the sky, and lightning flashed along with thunder that rumbled through the damp air.
“This is someone’s home,” Sophie whispered as we looked around the room filled with bookshelves, a large table, and a fireplace with a marbled mantle. “And I take it we are in the library.”
“We’ve better get out of here quick,” Hannah said as we turned to find a closed wood paneled door.
Hannah reached for the knob as it suddenly twirled on its own.
“The storms over now,” said a friendly woman’s voice that came from behind the door. “I heard there was a lot of damage, but thanks to you Mae, it was stopped before it could do anymore destruction.” I could hear the sound of jingling keys. “Oh, these keys are terrible. There, finally got it out.”
Our eyes flickered at one another, and then we scattered like cockroaches seeking shelter when blasted with bright light. Hannah slipped behind the heavy curtain panel that hung in front of the windows, Sophie leaped over the couch that hugged the wall, and hid behind it. I chose to go back into the secret room with the portal. I didn’t want to, but there was nowhere else to hide.
I heard the door shut followed by several footsteps entering the room. Chairs were pulled out and then I could hear the sound of paper being shuffled. I hoped they wouldn’t see or sense us. We’ve come too far to get caught now.
“I told you I’m fine,” said a stern female voice.
“I just want to make sure,” another voice, male, replied.
The two voices sounded as though they were in the middle of a tug-of-war argument.
“Well, I think Mae is alright, but she should rest, and chalk it up to just one of her abilities. And it isn’t a bad one. You just need to learn when to answer the call and when to let it go. Nolan and I are concerned about you, Mae. And I know you two care for each other very much, but your relationship isn’t a normal one. It isn’t like a human marriage. There are many factors that affect your relationship.”
We must be in a marriage counselor’s office for the enchanted community.
“Nolan, you were a guardian at one time,” the counselor’s voice said plainly. I nearly dropped to my knees. Guardian! We were surely caught now. “And you Mae are…”
“I am what I am, Maggie,” Mae said as I could hear a chair move. “Please, don’t call me what I am out loud.” She pleaded.
Silence. I suddenly felt the air thicken. I could feel sorrow, pain, and anger curl around me. I felt I was going to explode with all the emotions that swirled around me like fish in an aquarium.
“Alright, I won’t,” Maggie said in a clam voice. “But please sit down, and let’s talk.”
No, let’s not. I thought to myself. I couldn’t take any more of this girl’s tortured emotions I was suddenly feeling.
“What I think you need is time to reflect on one another, and to do that you need talk to each other about your fears of your relationship. You need to listen to each other, and I mean really listen,” Maggie said. “These issues won’t go away, but they can be managed. I know this is a stressful time, and I know you want to have a child, but you need to have a nourishing environment not only for a baby, but for yourselves as well.”
I felt the tension loosen, and all the bad feelings dissolve. Mae was calming down, and knew what she had to do. Not only did I feel connected to her emotions, I began to feel a physical pull to her. Why did I feel this way? Was it my siren abilities that had taken over?
With extreme caution, I cracked open the door. A man and woman sat side by side in front of a table. The woman had a petite frame with long brown hair. Obviously, she must be Mae, and Nolan sat next to her. He had a lighter shade of brown hair, and held onto Mae’s hand gently rubbing his thumb over her delicate fingers. For a moment, my thoughts rushed back to Aaron. I used to do that to his hands. I closed my eyes and pushed those feelings away.
I turned myself so I could view a different angle. Maggie sat across from Mae and Nolan. She had bobbed hair that looked like it had equal portions of white and black stands. Even though her hair had an aged appearance, she still had a youthful look to her that gleamed in her caring eyes that I could see through the small crack in the door.
They looked like the perfect couple. I felt my insides fluttered at their love for each other. I wanted to come out of my hiding spot to tell them that whatever their problems were, wasn’t strong enough to destroy the relationship they had. Nolan had sacrificed so much to have the family he wanted, and Mae…
A light went off inside of me. What was Mae? A familiarity casted over me so strong, I thought I’d topple over. Then, I clearly saw what she was. Mae was a siren.
“Do you have a light on behind the curtain?” Nolan asked pointing to where Hannah was hiding.
My heart skipped a beat as Maggie turned and looked at the small glowing light that illuminated the curtain. The calling shell glowed so bright that it looked like it could burn through the heavy curtain. It was all over now, we’d been found, and by a guardian as well.
“Oh, that,” Maggie said after a few seconds. “Yes, it’s a nightlight that I keep on if I come in here at night.” She then stood up. “I hate to cut our time short, but I should really get down to the library and make sure everything is secure. You know with the storm.”
“Oh, we understand. And thanks for everything, Maggie,” Nolan said with a smile.
Mae and Nolan left as Maggie lingered at first shuffling through papers, and then she stood behind her desk and looked at where Hannah was hiding. She then turned away and headed towards the door. It opened and shut. Good, she was gone.
“Hannah,” I said opening the door to the cobwebbed covered room. I gently shut it behind me, and headed towards Hannah. “They’re gone. We can…” Suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist and I was shoved against the door.
“Sate your realm and business here.” Maggie demanded shoving a thin wand in my face.
“B-Beannca White from Chicago,” I replied quickly.
Maggie turned away from me holding the wand straight out in front of her. It glowed brighter as she pointed it towards Hannah’s and Sophie’s hiding spots. “You, behind the curtain, and you behind the couch,” she said pointing the wand in each direction. “Come out now.”
I tried to take advantage of Maggie having her back to me to move away from her, but realized my wrists were stuck to the door. Strands of glowing light that looked like illuminated cobwebs, glued my hands to the door. I couldn’t move.
I could see over Maggie’s shoulder Hannah and Sophie. They stood next to each other with hands raised and eyes on Maggie. She motioned for them to stand beside me.
We were caught. Everything was over with now, and I’d e
nd up charged with the murder of Bridget. I would be put into a book never to see the light of day again. I began to tremble with tears welling in my eyes. What was worse than being put into a book of unknown horrors was the idea that it would be recorded that I murdered Bridget, my only true friend.
“What are your names?” Maggie asked Hannah and Sophie.
“Sophie White,” Sophie said in a calm voice. “We are…”
“Quiet!” Maggie pointed the wand at Hannah. “Your name and realm.”
“Hannah Black, and we’re all from Chicago.”
Maggie studied us with her blue eyes. I wasn’t sure what exactly she was yet. She did have a wand, counseled members of the enchanted community married to guardians, and had a hidden room filled with magical implements. She couldn’t be a librarian, at least an active one.
When Maggie had looked us over for several seconds, she nodded her head with a smile. “You’re speaking the truth without using an ounce of your siren abilities on me.” She knew what we were. “Now, tell me how two White sirens and one Black got into my home with a calling shell in hand.”