PROLOGUE
I was born with this curse. From day one, I was able to see things that any normal person couldn’t, and from day one I was forced to keep it a secret. If I were to look for just one second too long at their abnormally sharp angled, beautiful faces, or gasp at the sight of a vampire bleeding a faery woman dry in an alleyway, they would kill me, and they wouldn’t do it quickly either. They feel no sympathy, no mercy. If I had only one wish it would be to end this curse, to be what I consider normal, to heal the gaping wounds that this curse has caused me and the rest before me who had to carry it’s burden.
My Nana always called it a gift, but she could not only just see them. She could feel if any were near and even determine whether or not they were a threat, she said it made her special and unique, and that I should feel the same.
Until one warm summer night, the sun had just set letting the full harvest moon cast the long shadows of trees and firefly infested lamp posts on the vacant street. Not a car was in sight, yet all of the windows in nearly every house we passed were brightly lit. She was telling me about a book she had just finished reading. A romance novel in which the main character’s love was forbidden and because of that love, the female character (Lydia) was murdered. I never did understand why she liked those books.
My Nana stopped suddenly, her body went stiff and she got a trance-like look in her eyes. This look I knew very well. It meant that a creature of the shadow world was near.
“What is it Nana? Should I call a cab?” I pointed to a payphone that was about fifteen meters away.
“Hmmm; it’s a younger lycan, just changed. It’s no big threat.” She blinked out of her trancelike state and her features twisted into that of heavy concentration. It made me unsettled to think that she wasn’t satisfied with her response. My stomach twisted with nervousness I felt. We walked on in silence. She looked like she was trying hard to figure something out, but what? My Nana was never wrong.
My Nana dropped the bag containing the muffin mix and the spray on butter, which rolled away from us into a nearby ditch. The sudden sound of the tin hitting the pavement startled me. Her wrinkled violet eyes widened.
“I made a mistake.” Was all she said, but her shaking limbs and the pleading look in her eyes told me all I needed to know, and because of this my hand began to shake with hers. I grabbed at her arm to help her run, but she was unmovable, like a gargoyle statue, ready for war.
“No Hailey.” It took me a minute to realize what she was saying, “If you run, you’ll make it home.” I shook my head over and over, I repeatedly whispered the word ‘no’ to her, but I knew it was of no use. Nobody ever argued with Nana, nobody could ever win. Stubborn old woman she was. She took my hand off her sleeve and placed something cold and heavy in it. She kissed my forehead and smiled, only briefly, her smile turned into a grimace,
“Go Hale, now!” She pushed me away roughly and I began to hyperventilate. My Nana whirled around, the figures of oversized wolves with jet black fur and teeth as sharp as knives were almost clearly visible now. It was too late, I had thought, we didn’t stand a chance. There must have been ten lycans in the street snarling and howling. The foamy saliva around their mouths was dripping while they walked slowly forward.
There were more on the way, I could hear them coming, and their howls sent chills down my spine. A cold sweat build on my forehead, and I wondered why none of the houses surrounding us had lights on or people coming to the door to see what all the noise was about. Could they really be that blind to what was going on right outside their doors? We were all alone, and nobody could help us because nobody could see.
The wolves all bent into a crouching position, their teeth bared and their wild dark eyes focused on one target, me. My Nana could tell who their target was as well, she looked from me back to the wolves.
She yelled, “RUN!” At that very second the wolves charged, as if she had pulled the imaginary trigger that lead to both our deaths.
My Nana stepped in front of me, shielding me from the beasts that aimed for my demise. The largest lycan charged and my Nana screamed and instinctively put her hands out to protect herself and me. I backed away slowly, unable to catch my breath, confusion took over my body and I reacted. I turned and began to run. I could hear the lycan’s cries and prayed for my Nana’s safe return.
I was only eleven at the time and I always wondered if she would still call it a gift after that. Any other human would have seen something different like a street gang or a bunch of rabid dogs, or nothing at all; wouldn’t that have been easier than the truth? Easier than knowing that no matter how loud you scream nobody will come.
I wear the necklace she gave me that night everyday, hoping it holds the secrets of the magic she had done that night. Magic that my mom tells me I imagined, but I know better, I know what I saw and it gives me hope. Now I know that we weren’t just born with the sight, we were born with protection against it. Now all I need is to figure out how to access that part of my curse, then maybe it won’t be as bad, maybe no more people that I love will have to die because of it.
