Here is the first chapter of my latest story, tentatively titled Blood Magic. Let me know what you think, please! Even if you didn't like it, constructive criticism is always welcome! (I really would like to know if this is worth continuing - I have 2 more chapters as well.) Thanks!
I
Rae sighed. She was so terribly tired of studying language and magical theory while Mia and Nell got to actually do stuff. The problem was, of course, that her magic had not yet presented itself. Everyone in her family, the ni Nadurin clan, was a Human-Faery cross, from another world called Liera. They called themselves the Naders and tried to blend in amongst Humans in Earth while concealing their true purpose, which was to guard the nearest door from Liera to Earth. While attempting to maintain lives masquerading as Humans, the ni Nadurins also practiced their magic. Rae, however, had not yet found out what her magical element and specialty was, and thus was forced to hit the books while Nell and Mia studied magic.
Rae had very nearly killed her twin when Nell had suggested that Rae try to live a “normal” life.
“It’s just, since your magic hasn’t shown up yet, maybe you should…. I don’t know. Try and live like a human or something, until it does,” Nell had said. Nell, Rae’s twin, was a waterwitch, and a very talented Shapeshifter.
“Live like a human?” Rae had choked out.
“I mean, since you can’t do the stuff Mia and I can do yet, you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it,” Nell had replied, seeing Rae’s upset. “I’m only trying to help.”
And Rae knew that. But still, Nell’s words had hurt. It was almost funny, too, to think of trying to live like a clueless, magic-less Earth human. For one thing, her sisters and parents were constantly using their magic; for another, even Rae’s chores related to magic.
Some genius back in Míradien, had decided that the ni Nadurins ought to act as a sort of foster family to pixy criminals, who were, as eternal punishment, trapped in the bodies of animals. So far they had a cat, rabbit, snake and raven. Luckily, though, they were much better able to look after themselves than real animals, so that the girls’ duties as far as the pixies were concerned extended to feeding and clean up and not much else. Rae had just finished giving everyone dinner, after the family’s own supper.
Now, Nell and Mia were in the secluded back garden, with Cassie and Raís, and Rae was studying Mermish, the language of Merfolk. It was her dream to become an ambassador from her clan’s native country of Míradien to other countries and peoples in Liera. No doubt being able to understand many different languages would be a great help then, but now, when it made her feel like a complete outsider among her own family, she didn’t exactly appreciate her studies. She closed her book and leaned out the window, closing her eyes. On the breeze that flowed through her window came the sounds of Mia and their mother, Cassie, laughing, and an animal’s howling (which was, Rae mused, most likely Nell. The form of a wolf was a new one for the Shapeshifter, and she enjoyed testing out new bodies).
Interrupting Rae’s lazy thoughts, the phone in the hall rang raucously. Sighing again, Rae stood and walked out to the hall to the wireless phone that rang and blinked on its cradle. “Hello, Uncle Art,” Rae said, forcing herself to sound happy and upbeat.
“Who is this? Soranell?” her uncle asked quickly. He was always confusing the identical twins for some reason. Most people confused the twins, actually, even though they sounded and acted different. They both had long, wavy, brown hair and eyes the color of pure gold, and slight, athletic frames.
“No, it’s Raeline, Uncle Art.”
“How did you know it was me?” Suddenly Uncle Art sounded excited. “Have you found your powers? Are you a Seer, Raeline?”
Rae bit back a huff. Uncle Artij, who was a firewarlock, was nice, but he could get annoying whenever the subject of Rae’s lack of magic came up. When he visited, he was forever trying to surprise or force magic into her, which made Rae dread seeing him. “Um, no, sorry,” Rae said, hating herself for apologizing for the way she was. Wouldn’t anyone outside her immediate family get over the fact that she was magic-less? “We have caller id, actually.”
“Oh. That’s too bad. Never mind then.” Uncle Art sounded disappointed.
“So, what’s up?” Rae asked, leaning against the wall and rubbing her nose. “Is anything the matter?”
“How did you know?” Uncle Art asked, excited again.
“I haven’t got any powers, Uncle Art. You just sounded worried,” Rae replied hastily. And honestly, she thought, if I do ever get powers, they probably won’t just appear in less than ten seconds. It’d be nice if they arrived with a bang. She stood up straight and began to walk swiftly downstairs.
“Hmm. Well, as a matter of fact, I am quite worried…” Uncle Art’s voice a steady rasp in her ear, Rae reached the back door. “But really, that you knew surprises me, Raeline. I wonder if perhaps you’re not a people-Seer, you know.” Rae didn’t know. Nor did she care, actually. She leaned out the back door, gesturing wildly to her mother with her free hand.
“Yeah, mm, hmm,” Rae mumbled, trying to sound interested. She had caught her mother’s attention. Cassie, who looked up from her lesson with Mia, grinned when she spotted her daughter’s frustrated expression. Rae made a face as Cassie began to walk across the yard to the door, nodding to show she had guessed who was on the other end of the phone.
“Why don’t we try an experiment? How about you try to find out what I was calling about?” Uncle Art sounded excited again.
“Um, yeah, well, uh. Oh, Uncle Art, here’s Mom, you can just tell her what was bothering you,” Rae said as her mother reached the door. “I’ve got to go study, you know, Mermish and all that. Bye!”
Relieved, Rae handed her mother the phone and turned away, returning to her room. She flopped onto her bed. She supposed she could give Uncle Art’s idea a try…. She focused on her most recent memory of Uncle Art, with his thinning, silvery hair and thin frame, slightly droopy mustache, and then she tried to figure out what he was thinking. She concentrated hard, pressing her hands to her temples.
After half an hour, she had only succeeded in figuring out that she didn’t have any powers and had a terrible, splitting headache. She punched her pillow, knocking her book of Mermish grammar to the ground, and groaned.
The next morning, Mia’s shrieks woke the household. Mia, whose full name was Lamiakira (though that certainly wasn’t on the birth certificate), screamed loud enough to wake even Rae. The twins, and Raís and Cassie, all stumbled into Mia’s room.
“What time is it?” Rae demanded blearily, squinting and running a hand through her hair.
No one bothered to answer her. Tears were running down Mia’s cherubic face as she sobbed, “Mac’s dead!”
“You woke me up for this? No one really cares, Mia,” Rae mumbled, and stumbled out of the room and down the hall to her own room, where her warm bed waited.
“What?” Mia cried. Her eyes went wide. “How can she say that?”
“She didn’t mean to say that, sweetie,” Nell promised quickly. Nell was significantly more alert than Rae was after waking. She put a comforting arm around Mia’s shoulders.
Cassalee muttered something about things always happening in the morning and interrupting her sleep, and then said, “Mia, honey, it’s two in the morning. What were you doing checking on Mac anyway?”
“I was just sleeping and then all of a sudden I felt a sort of fluttering, as though my heart had stopped for a minute, and then I woke up and checked on Mac and I saw… I saw.…” Mia wept harder, pointing at the cage on her desk. The sight of her dead hamster had undone her.
“Well, it’s very, very early Mia. Why don’t you try to get some sleep and I’ll take care of Mac, hmm?” Cassie held a hand to her forehead. Sleep deprivation gave her headaches, and was giving her one now.
Mia nodded, covering her tearstained face with her hands, and Nell slipped away to her room, leaving poor Mia to Cassie and Raís.
Later that morning, Rae was somewhat more awake and by seven o’clock had dressed. She pulled a brush half-heartedly through her hair before she threw it onto her unmade bed and walked downstairs for breakfast. Cassie was nowhere to be seen, Raís was making coffee and Nell sat at the table, eating toast.
“Morning, Rae,” Nell chirped.
Rae grunted in reply as she sat down. She was never really awake until ten, which meant that her first-period grades were not the best. She grabbed an orange and began to peel it, and Nell said after a moment, “I think you need to apologize to Mia.”
“For what?” Rae asked, placing the peels on the tabletop before her.
“For being really mean about Mac dying,” Nell said exasperatedly. “What else? She’s still crying about it, and now she’s in the garden with Mom, burying him. She’ll be miserable for weeks over this, and you haven’t exactly made things easier for her, telling her no one cares about him.”
“When did I say that?” Rae demanded. “I would never say anything like that. Come on, Nellie, do you think I’m a monster?”
“Don’t use that nickname anymore, Sunrae,” Nell said sharply. The Nickname Argument was an old one, and not one worth entering into at moment. “We both know I’m too old for it. And you did too say that,” Nell argued. “I heard you. Didn’t you hear her, Daddy?” Both girls turned to Raís, who shook his head dismissively. After fifteen years, he certainly knew better than to take sides in one of the infamous Nell-Rae face-offs. “Well, anyway,” Nell continued, apparently decided that it wasn’t worth the effort to get her father to side with her, “you know she’s more sensitive to this kind of thing than most people, because of her magic. So just apologize, and say something nice, would you?”
“If she’s such a great earthwitch, she should understand that death and dying are part of the ‘circle of life,’ or whatever,” Rae insisted crossly, dropping the last peel on the table and dividing her orange into sections. “Shouldn’t she, Daddy?”
Raís poured his coffee and tucked the paper under his arm. “I think I’ll eat in the garden,” he announced to the kitchen, ignoring them, and he took his coffee and breakfast outside.
“But still, Rae!” Nell was clearly not about to let the matter go.
Rae growled. Magic was a sore point for her, and she didn’t appreciate Nell bringing it up. Nell was the gifted one. She had had a prophecy made over her as a baby, and she was meant to do great things or something. It sometimes made Nell act as though she was always right, especially during arguments (which she wasn’t), and that annoyed Rae and made her defensive.
“Stop it, bratlings.” A small black cat padded into the kitchen, tail twitching. “Nell, leave Rae alone. Rae, just say sorry to Mia, understand?” she said shortly, jumping up onto the counter. “I want food now, so meow, or whatever it is cats are expected to say.”
“Good morning, Ayashu,” Rae and Nell chorused, and then made faces at one another. Ayashu, the cat, was one of the pixy criminals the ni Nadurins fostered. Ayashu, however, was unlike the other pixies in the household in one significant way: she was by no means reformed. She was quite cantankerous, which had immediately endeared her to the ni Nadurins.
All of the pixies could talk, which was normal enough though it seemed a bit bizarre, hearing words come out of an animal’s mouth. Ayashu alone made the girls wish she had had her speech taken away, for she got quite irksome quickly.
A large raven flew into the kitchen and perched on Rae’s head. “I wish to be fed, as well, if it pleases you,” said Narai.
“Would we let you starve?” Rae asked, pretending to pout a little as Narai ruffled her feathers. “Ayashu, go find Isini and Zayinra, would you?” Ayashu sniffed but did as she was told, though it was a most un-catlike thing to do.
Rae abandoned her half-eaten orange and stood up, grabbing bowls and lining them up on the counter. She pulled out the bags of food each “pet” consumed, and filled the bowls. “Breakfast, come and get it,” she called. Narai winged her way to the counter, and began to peck at her bowl of grain and dried fruit.
Isini, the lop-eared rabbit, hopped into the kitchen with a merry tail-wiggle. “Good morning,” he squeaked. Slithering in beside him was Zayinra, a six-foot long, red-tailed boa, and together they made quite a pair. Zayinra, a part of the family for two years, had had to be taught not to attempt to eat Isini, who had been living in the Naders’ home for four years and had seniority. Once she was cured of that habit, however, Isini and Zayinra were the best of friends.
“Morning, Isini.” Nell stroked the rabbit’s fur gently and Rae set his bowl of hay on the floor. Zayinra slithered out into the garden to find her own food when Rae opened the screen door for her, just sliding it shut in time to stop Ayashu from escaping.
Nell seized the tiny cat and held her firmly in her lap, saying, “You couldn’t get away from us even if you did get out, Ayashu, so get over it. This trick is getting old.” Rae put Ayashu’s bowl on the floor as well, and Ayashu wriggled out of Nell’s grasp to drop to the floor and eat.
Once the pixies were eating, Rae finished her orange while Nell had another piece of toast. Both sisters turned when the screen door opened and Mia and Cassie stepped into the kitchen. “Mom says we can have a funeral for Mackie after school,” Mia sniffled, and Rae felt guilty. Mia’s fine, dirty-blond hair was tangled and mussed, she had dark circles under her slate-gray eyes, and her cheeks were tearstained.
“Look, Mimi, you know I didn’t mean it, what I said this morning,” Rae said gruffly. “I wasn’t even really awake.”
“I know.” Mia heaved a breathy little sigh. “I was just a bit overwhelmed. I’ll get over it. Eventually. Oh, poor Mac, why ever did I not tell you I loved you when last we met?” she moaned. For a thirteen-year-old, Mia was quite enamored of Elizabethan literature. She quoted Shakespeare like other kids her age quoted The Simpsons, and when no one reminded her to stop, she could be a bit pompous.
“I’ve got to get to work,” Cassie sighed. She was a veterinarian, and her practice was not far from the house. “I’ll see you guys later.” She kissed her daughters warmly, and with a final, “Ayashu, you break anything and I’ll report you to your parole officer!” she left the house.
“Honestly,” Ayashu grumbled, licking her lips hungrily. “The way she talks, you would think I break things on purpose.”
“You do, little convict. Every single day,” Rae said pointedly, wrinkling her nose and twitching it in the cat’s direction. “We’d have a lot more sympathy for you if Mom wasn’t right. And by the way, I hope you’ve found a way to fix all of the pens in my room that mysteriously fell apart, because I need them for homework.”
“Good luck trying without opposable thumbs,” Nell added with a grin. “I suppose it is too bad your last little attempt at escape–”
“Freedom!” Ayashu interjected, but Nell ignored her.
“–got your magic bound, so now you’re about as powerful as a regular housecat.” Nell and Rae shared a wicked smile.
Ayashu looked from one girl to the other, then said nastily, “Which means that I have the claws of a regular housecat,” and unsheathed them on one paw. “Which means that I could claw you all up in the middle of the night, if the idea struck me.” Ayashu waved her paw in the air before she sheathed her claws and began to wash herself.
“Daddy, the criminal is threatening us!” Mia cried with a faint smile. She sat on the floor and Ayashu climbed into her lap. Of all the ni Nadurins, Ayashu, and Isini and Zayinra favored Mia and Cassie. Narai preferred Nell, though she did get along well with Rae.
Nell snapped, “You try anything, kitty, and see how far you get. Mom’s gonna teach me to change into a lion this weekend, and then I’m gonna beat your little feline behind!”
Rae bristled at the change of topic and went to the sink to wash her hands. Narai had finished eating and proceeded to preen. “Nell, you’re on dishes,” Rae called, and then sat down again. Nell sighed before she got up and collected the food bowls. Isini hopped away to watch television, and Narai followed him, flying near the ceiling to avoid crashing into any heads. Ayashu, now that she was not the center of attention, stalked off muttering darkly to herself.
Mia poured herself a bowl of cereal and went to find the milk. She hefted the carton and just as she was about to put it down, it slipped out of her fingers and exploded onto the floor and the inside of the refrigerator. And all over Rae, who was not pleased.
“Mia!” Rae yelled. It seemed all she could say. Her pants and shirt were soaked with milk. “Mia!”
Mia grabbed a mop and began to cry. “I’m sorry,” she said wetly, and Nell shut off the water and turned from the sink.
Nell hugged Mia, taking the mop, and glared at Rae over Mia’s head. “It’s okay, Mimi. Don’t cry.”
The three quickly cleaned up the mess. Nell tossed the broken milk carton into the garbage, and then she and Mia mopped the floor. Rae set to scrubbing the inside of the refrigerator, which was when she said, “Hey…”
“Hey what?” Nell asked, shutting the mop in the broom cupboard with a snap.
“Hey, there’s cheesecake in here. And no one’s touched it.” Rae exchanged a look with her twin.
“So?” Mia asked. “That only means that no one has gotten to it yet, duh. That doesn’t mean anything.”
Nell shook her head. “You know Mom,” she said. Cheesecake was Cassalee’s guilty pleasure, and she wouldn’t let it in the house unless they were having company; she wouldn’t eat it if they were, wanting to save it for the guests.
Mia shrugged, unconcerned, and began to much on her dry cereal nonchalantly. Rae looked at Nell. So who’s coming over? Rae asked Nell silently. Faery twins shared a close, powerful magical bond, and in Nell and Rae’s case, they were able to share thoughts silently, among other abilities.
I don’t know. Maybe Uncle Art, Nell added with a smile. He’s probably found some elixir or ritual or something to “help” you out.
Shut up. Rae glared at Nell’s teasing tone. Probably another family meeting. Wonder why they didn’t tell us?
Probably a matter of inter-world importance, Nell said mockingly. I bet Ayashu will have all the details for us when we get home from school.
Stupid pixy-cat knows everything that goes on around here, Rae grumbled. She knows things before we do!
Nell grinned. Then it’s a good thing she can be bribed with salmon treats, isn’t it? Rae smiled back.
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