“She’s dead,” Lucas states with an empty voice, then he leaves the room in a hurry. I collapse on the chair, knowing it was black magic and once she started talking, the poisonous charm was activated. Someone must have known she was taken into the custody earlier today.
I try to gather everything she told us just before the spell triggered, leaving her to choke on her own blood. I drag my hand through my hair, sighing loudly when my Pixies fly into the room along with Lucas and a few other shifters.
“Come on, Astri. Let’s move. There’s nothing you can do for her anymore,” Lucas says, nudging me and I stand up, unable to say a word, lost in my own nightmare. I feel like I’m back in the dark chamber, facing the mage who killed my parents again.
We’re walking through the empty corridor and everyone’s talking to me at the same time, but I just shake my head, unable to respond. Then I sit in a chair and Jetli starts fanning me down with some papers. Slowly, I come back to the night I was announced the winner, when I overheard those two guards talking about the mage who had been hunting down members of the Wyvern clan. The unicorn gave me his white magic allowing me to see Jorgen’s memories–how could it be wrong? I can’t understand how Jorgen can have both a good and bad side. Everything about him is confusing and I have no idea what to think anymore, especially after what the guards said. Could the vision have been some sort of an illusion of what I wanted to see instead of the truth? It seems more plausible at this point. I’m so confused and I have no one to talk to about this… No one who’ll try to be impartial and help me get to the bottom of it.
I don’t want to believe Jorgen’s the mage from my nightmare–I’m over my hatred for him. I’ve seen how much he cares for me–it just can’t be him. Oh Hommis, please help me understand…
Sweat surges down my face and I think it’s time to pay a visit to my aunt and uncle. They’ve been keeping the real truth from me for a long time–too long. I accepted it for eleven years, but I need to track down other members from my clan. I can’t be the only Wyvern dragon shifter left in the entire Eastern World.
“Astri, are you all right? None of this was your fault, she was just about to reveal the identity of the killer when she got struck with a black magic spell,” Lucas says, sitting next to me.
“It doesn’t matter. I need to leave–I have to pay someone a visit,” I tell him, knowing I waited too long to get to the truth.
“You’re probably still in shock. Anna was a victim and I don’t think you should be going anywhere alone right now. The killer’s still out there and might be targeting you.”
“Astri, Jetli thinks that you should listen to Mr. Detective. I don’t like black magic,” Lenin throws out his opinion. He’s scared and I’m not surprised, but I need answers. I’m done being the victim.
“We’re going to head to Emilia’s store. You can send me in the car or whatever. I need to leave now,” I insist, trying to breathe steadily.
“All right, Roger will drive you, and I’ll head to the castle. The duke might have to postpone any official events until we solve what happened the night of the murder,” Lucas agrees.
I nod, and get up. It’s time to find others, to discover what kind of magic the wyvern line’s been hiding.
Chapter 14
Aunt and uncle.
I leave the station immediately, probably still in shock as Lucas said or maybe because there’s a completely different reason behind it. Who knows at this point? Lucas sends me with Roger, a calm, older shifter. The Pixies, as usual, shower him with all sorts of questions, but he politely ignores them. I don’t talk, looking out the window, wondering what else my aunt’s hidden from me. Sometimes I think Emilia knows me better than I know myself and I need her to be there with me. I’m not walking away from that house without any solid information–I don’t care if my uncle was hoping to never see me again.
Rosanna’s killer must have found out Anna was going to talk. The shifter or mage used black magic through a messenger to charm her. There can’t be any other explanation to this. I suspect her brother, the one who allegedly hung himself had something to do with it. Bratlav most likely had his own people spying in the castle or worse, maybe it was a different shifter from another clan.
“Thank you Roger,” I say to the driver once he stops outside Emilia’s shop.
“Yes, we’re thanking you, Mr. Detective driver, and we don’t understand why you didn’t want to talk to us. We’re good Pixies,” Lenin says, feeling most likely offended, and I catch Roger’s mysterious smile in the front mirror before I slip from the car.
Emilia’s staring at a pile of paperwork when I walk in. Luckily for me, there’s only two customers wondering around. Marianna’s stocking the shelves in the back.
“Astri, what a pleasant surprise. I’m sorry about the other day. We’ve been very busy lately,” she says, pinching her eyebrows together, staring at her invoices like the numbers aren’t adding up. Emilia hates finances and she knows she’s hopeless with it. I don’t want to be selfish and drag her away from her responsibilities, but I truly need her support right now.
“Emilia would you come with me to see my aunt and uncle? I have to ask them a few questions?” I ask, biting my lip.
Bringing Emilia might complicate things, but with her there, my aunt will be too scared to try anything. I’ve been putting up with their insults and lies for too long. I need to show them that I’ve changed, become more resilient. This is the only way I know how to get them to tell me anything; it’s risky, but worth a shot.
The mage who killed Rosanna’s still in the city and the more time this investigation takes, the more I’m convinced Jorgen’s been innocent all along. There’s nothing much I remember from the past, about my parents–nothing indicating why someone’s so determined to end my life, other than me being Wyvern and Jorgen only wants to protect me. He doesn’t care that I’m Wyvern–he’s shown it time and again.
“You want to see your aunt and uncle?” she repeats.
“Yes, I have to ask them what they know about my other family. I need some real answers,” I explain.
“That fat, stupid, ugly human has to tell Astri everything or I’ll fart in his face so bad he won’t sleep right for a week!” Lenin shouts.
Emilia puts the paperwork down and looks at me intensely.
“Are you sure about this? You finally broke away from them and now you want to go back?” my ex-boss asks, obviously concerned about me. She watched me put up with them for years, but they’re the only people who might know something.
I had my mother’s necklace, that’s all, and everything else was burnt in the fire. My aunt kept telling me my other family didn’t want me and I just accepted it. All these years, she knew my mother was a half human. If she hid such a significant detail, then she definitely knows more about my past than she ever let on.
“The murder in the castle was most likely connected to me–everything to this point leads in that direction. The poor girl was stabbed in my old chamber. A day later, someone sent a poisonous potion to my room and at first I thought the note was from you. Lenin and Jetli saved me, otherwise I wouldn’t be standing here right now talking to you,” I explain and Emilia nearly drops the cup she just picked up. She’s the most powerful witch in the city, and I’m glad she has my back like Lenin and Jetli.
“For Hommis, Astri, you should’ve said something sooner,” she says. “All right, we’ll leave right away.”
She goes in the back to pick up her stuff. It’s the perfect time to pay my aunt a visit; Richard’s going to be in the office dealing with his important insurance cases, so hopefully he won’t interfere.
I turn around to talk to my Pixies.
“Guys, I’ll give you a sign if I want you to scare my aunt, but only if it’s necessary. Hopefully, we won’t have to do anything of the sort, but she can be very difficult when she wants to be,” I say, and they both get excited about the fact that for the first time ever they might get a chance to play
their mischievous tricks on my aunt.
“You don’t even know what I can do, Astri. My farts can be strong and so smelly. Jetli can enchant them with magic,” Lenin chuckles, and Jetli nods enthusiastically.
I smile, trying to be serious about this whole trip.
“Maybe we don’t have to be so cruel. Just make her feel like the house is haunted or something like that. That should motivate her to talk,” I suggest, and my stomach makes an unsteady flip.
Jetli sighs loudly, obviously a bit disappointed she can’t get revenge for all the years of mistreatment, but this whole conversation needs to be civil. I’ve changed, but I need to remember that I’m not cruel, and I killed Pollock only to protect myself.
“That’s all right. We’ll be the best ghost’s you can ever imagine, Astri. Count us in,” Lenin shouts and high-fives Jetli. Moments later, Emilia comes back to the main part of the shop wearing her red coat.
“The last time we talked about this, you were pretty convinced you knew who murdered your parents,” she says, once we leave the shop and head over to the human side of the city.
I rub my deformed cheek, thinking about Pollock, sensing Anna was cursed with the same black magic. I glance around, feeling a bit paranoid, wondering if the killer’s watching me from the distance.
“I might have made a mistake, Emilia, a terrible mistake and now I have no idea how to fix it,” I say, still thinking about Jorgen’s dragon and the ritual. The hot, boiling guilt pours down to my stomach. The duke’s never going to forgive me if he finds out the truth.
“You can always make amends–use your heart to guide you. The duke’s training you and you can’t be resistant to your emotions,” she says, not drilling me with questions. She knows I’ll explain everything in my own time, and that’s why I love her so much.
Emilia reminds Lenin to stick to my arrangement when we enter the human populated area. It’s early afternoon and a few teenage boys are kicking a ball outside their houses. My aunt told me I would never be welcome in their home ever again. Too bad, she still owes me an explanation.
“Beatrice is going to be unpleasant with you here, but I doubt she’ll try to hide anything,” I say, as nervous tingles crawl down my arms and back. The neighbours are staring at us from the other side of the road. I see them hiding behind the curtains, most likely trying to figure out what’s going on.
“She looks down on people and she needs to be taught a lesson. Man I real–”
“Lenin please, let’s do this my way. My aunt knows things about my past and we want her to tell us everything,” I cut Lenin off.
“You’re no fun, Astri, and your aunt is a giant, human idiot,” Lenin says, folding his tiny hands over his chest.
We approach the door and Emilia nods for to me to go ahead, so I knock. My pulse is beating frantically, and I encourage myself, knowing I can do this. The contest gave me confidence and strength. Beatrice can cringe at the sight of my scar, but it won’t affect me anymore. I’ve grown to live with it.
Moments later, the maid, Elizabeth opens the door. She gasps when she sees me, looking shocked, most likely because I dared to come back.
“We’re here to see my aunt,” I tell her. She glances over to my scar then at Emilia standing behind me.
“Mrs. Dorchester’s in the living room. I’ll just let her–”
“No that won’t be necessary, I know the way,” I say, pushing the door, moving past her. Elizabeth carries on running after us when I keep moving through the house I used to hate to go back to at the end of the day.
My aunt’s in the living room and she’s not alone. Her friends from some stupid human club are with her. I have no idea what the meeting’s about and I don’t care.
“Astri, what are you doing in here? Elizabeth why on earth did you let her in?” my aunt shouts, putting her expensive cup of tea on the table, then shoots a nervous glance at her guests.
“I just barged in, aunt. We need to talk. I think you should show your guests the way out. This is important,” I say. Emilia chuckles behind me and I must admit, I’ve never seen my aunt moving so fast.
Three other human ladies, puff and throw irritated glances my way when my aunt hurries them out, apologising at least a million times. Lenin and Jetli are already disappearing, probably heading towards the kitchen.
I flop on the sofa, feeling confident and ready to confront her about my past. I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I like the new me.
Emilia takes off her red coat, looking around with interest.
“Your aunt has good taste,” she points out, staring at all the figures she’s been collecting over the years. “You know, this new Astri’s a little scary.”
Five minutes later, my aunt comes back, her jaw’s tight and she looks pissed off. Her lip keeps twitching nervously.
“Right, I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing, but I want you out of my house. Richard made himself perfectly clear when he told that duke to keep you away from us,” my aunt shouts.
I’m done feeling intimidated by her.
“Aunt, meet Emilia– my former boss. She’s the most powerful witch in the city–you really don’t want to anger her” I say, smoothing my damp palms over my jeans.
“How do you do, Mrs. Dorchester?” Emilia asks with her sweet tone of voice. My aunt backs away, going pale.
“Are you threatening me, girl?” she finally asks.
“I wish it didn’t have to come to this, but I’m certain you wouldn’t listen to me otherwise. There’s been a murder in the castle and I’m helping with the investigation,” I explain. “This whole thing has something to do with my past and my family.”
“Astri wants you to tell her everything you know about her parents. And the other family from her father’s side who ‘allegedly’ didn’t want to take care of her,” Emilia requests in a much softer tone. My aunt stares at her colourful dress and judging by her expression, she doesn’t think a woman Emilia’s age should be dressed so inappropriately.
“Sit down. We might as well get on with this. It’s really important and I think you owe me an explanation,” I press, tangled with inner anger and frustration. I should’ve looked for other Wyverns much sooner. My aunt purses her lips in a hard line, staring at me like she’s ready to lose all self-control and starts screaming.
Eventually, she manages to gather herself, and marches to the chair next to the fireplace and sits down.
“I don’t owe you anything, stupid girl. My cousin had always been a freak, that’s why I isolated myself from her for so many years,” she says, through gritted teeth. “I always knew you’d turn out just like her. Spoiled and different like the rest of thos–”
“Astri’s a dragon shifter, Mrs. Dorchester, and she’s duke Jorgen’s assistant. I know you never believed in her, but those insults aren’t necessary,” Emilia interrupts and I’m suddenly glad I brought her here with me.
“Pretentious human, let me charm her nose or ears, Astri. That will teach her a lesson,” Lenin whines and I glare at him and shake my head to let him know he needs to stick to our earlier agreement.
“I don’t know anything about her other family and I don’t know why I should tell you anything,” my aunt snaps. She really does hate me, and I still can’t understand why. I never asked her to help me.
“The other family, the one who “supposedly” didn’t want anything to do with me. Where do they live? I need my parent’s old address. I’m sure some of their things must have survived. Don’t you know they were murdered?”
I realise I’m going too fast, and I go silent. The silence stretches for a few long moments, and my aunt seems to be thinking about her answer. Emilia shifts on the chair and I try to breathe normally. Her magic travels around the room, warming my bloodstream. Two months ago, I was afraid to speak up in front of my aunt. I’ve made significant progress–I’m not afraid of her anymore.
“You wouldn’t want to be turned into a toad now, would you, Mrs. Dorch
eter?” Emilia’s question breaks the awkward silence, and my aunt shudders with disgust. She needs some motivation. I don’t understand why she’s always been so bitter towards me. As a child, I was always very obedient.
“I lost touch with my cousin when I was eighteen and never heard from her at all. Years later, the phone rang and the person on the other side of the line told me I had to head over to the hospital right away–he said my niece was just brought in and she was in critical condition. I wanted to hang up, but couldn’t. The man on the line never introduced himself. He ordered me to take care of you and never ask any questions. We had to lie and say your parents were killed in an accident, and that was it.”
Chapter 15
The unexpected truth.
I stare at her, finding it hard to breathe. I feel a warm tingle at the back of my neck that keeps fluttering and moving throughout my body. My aunt can’t be serious–maybe she’s trying to tell me more lies, pretending someone else was involved. I glance at Emilia who’s staring at my aunt with a hard, serious look on her face. Her magic darkens, enveloping with strong threats of energy.
Then she glances at me and I gasp, knowing Emilia just confirmed my aunt’s telling me the truth.
“Someone anonymous called you and forced you to go to the hospital that day?” I repeat.
My aunt looks away, tensing her jaw while smoothing her designer skirt.
“He told us we had to take you in or we would lose everything. I’d never been interested in my cousin’s life. My dead mother had talked about her a few times. Mum told me that your mother married a dragon shifter and they had you,” my aunt explains with the same bitterness in her tone. “Richard went with me to the hospital that day in the city and the doctor told us someone had brought you in an hour earlier. Apparently, it was another shifter, but the staff didn’t know anything else beyond that. He vanished immediately afterwards.”