Chapter - Four

‘What's a youngblood?' I asked Blanche.

It didn't seem that anyone else was taking this news well either. Calum's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped as Felix choked on his piece of toast.

‘No way,' Felix, said, scowling at me.

Blanche studied my mark while Talora answered me. ‘Youngbloods are a mix of folklore beings. Their blood is new every time, hence the name. The standard youngblood is a child of death and human, but there are legends dating back to the Egyptian pyramids of offspring who come from other mutations.'

‘I thought they were just legend,' Calum said.

Felix snorted at Talora's words, shaking his head. ‘I don't see it. That girl is entirely human. Don't you think I would have known if I were drinking from a halfling? Wouldn't I have some special abilities by now if she were?'

‘How much did you drink?' Talora asked him.

‘Close to three pints. She didn't stop struggling for quite a bit.'

‘There's no way you could drink that much without killing a mortal,' Blanche said, eyeing the puncture wounds on my neck. ‘I detect something, but I can't be sure, for I haven't met one in so many years.'

‘What?' I asked, addressing the room.

‘You smell like pudding,' Talora finally said. ‘And the characteristic of a faerie is to smell sweetly.'

‘That's why you had a nip!' Calum cried out as Felix put his head in his hands. ‘You've always had a soft spot for the scent of a Fae.'

‘How was I supposed to know?' Felix said from between his fingers. ‘I've never met a faerie with that kind of scent. And I've certainly never encountered a youngblood dressed in a Halloween suit who is unaware of her genetics.'

My head was reeling. ‘Hold on. So now I'm part faerie?' I asked, feeling like my breakfast may come back up.

‘You are a mix,' Talora answered.

‘My wife means to say, you seem to be a youngblood whose genetics are made up of faerie and a child of death,' Blanche explained, noticing the bewilderment on my face. ‘It would make it clear as to why Felix could drink so much from you without killing you, and why you have a scent of a faerie. Only children of death can stomach being heavily drunk from. Three pints is far too much for any human to handle.'

‘But when I drank from her, she had crimson blood,' Felix said, his eyebrows furrowed. He noticed my puzzled expression and explained, ‘faeries have gold blood.'

‘Gold blood?' I said.

Blanche nodded solemnly. ‘Indeed. A part of their angelic traits.'

‘Faeries are part angels?'

‘Sort of,' Calum answered. ‘They're part of a higher being, hence the gold blood. Some of the really great ones can do magic, but warlocks tend to dabble in that mostly.'

‘And what is a warlock, exactly?' I asked, feeling clueless.

‘Half demon, half human. The demonic nature allows them to work spells and have heightened abilities, like summoning and creating portals for instance. But they're quite rare and most work for the council anyway, due to their limitless power.' Felix played with a ring on his index finger, not looking too bothered by what he was saying.

I felt my face drain of blood. ‘I feel like I might be sick.'

Blanche and Talora spoke softly between themselves. I couldn't hear anything of what they said but when Talora caught me staring, she tilted her chin towards me. Blanche followed her movement and the pair smiled kindly at me.

‘What now?' I asked them. ‘Does me being a youngblood mean I'm not a threat to your existence? Can I go home sooner?'

Talora ignored my question and left the room swiftly. Blanche reached out to look at the mark on my finger again, turning it over in her cool hands, her lips slightly pursed. She sighed and let go of my hand. I withdrew it into the safety of my lap. ‘Talora will ask the council to send both the Crimson Siblings and the Lotus Siblings to confer with us all. I imagine they'll come one at a time, for each kind has a different matter to attend to. But to answer your question, no, you can't go home sooner. You'll need to answer a lot more questions.'

‘Like what?'

‘Well, for instance, you said your visions as a child scared your mother. Chances are, she is not your biological mother. If she were, she would not have been afraid they were genuine delusions.'

Pain exploded in my chest. I clutched at the fabric of my sweater while trying to calm myself down. Blanche hugged my shoulders in a soft embrace, trying to give me comfort. Felix and Calum began to speak to one another, discussing their limited knowledge of youngbloods. My attention swam in and out of the room. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. Did I even know who I was if I hadn't been myself my whole life?

Talora returned and as her eyes met mine, she tried to give me a smile. ‘The council has agreed to meet Tabitha. But, they still state it will take a week for the Crimson Siblings to arrive and the Lotus Siblings will follow shortly after.'

My spirits, if they were even elevated at this point, dropped completely. I slumped down into the chair. Blanche continued to rub circles on my back with a frosty hand. She asked Talora if there was any way to speed up the process. Although I admired her ability to try, I simply felt stricken with panic. My body may have been present, but my mind had already gone to an unreachable place, wondering what would become of my mother while I was away, or my studies in my absence, and what all my friends would think when I didn't respond to messages.

The events of the evening before had left me doubting every inch of myself. Who was I? The dreams I'd seen as a child had always haunted me and shadows had seemed more sinister. I remembered the visions of the woman with white hair kissing my cheek at my birthday party; people on the street with horns and yellow eyes. I'd always questioned these sights. My mother was eventually concerned enough to make me see an eye doctor, but after they found nothing physically wrong with me, years of therapy had followed.

By the time I was fifteen, I'd been on six kinds of anti-psychotic medications. My mind had been numb and wounded from the years of therapy. So I'd stopped talking about the dreams and the visions, pretending I didn't see them anymore. My mother had hoped it was something I had simply grown out of, allowing me to see my doctor just twice a month and stop the medication. But the truth was, I still passed people in the streets and saw all kinds of strange things.

Calum mustered up a kind smile. ‘Cheer up, you'll just have to hang out with us for a bit. I promise we're nice, except Fifi, but we can ignore him. We'll get some board games and puzzles to do in the meantime!'

‘What about my mum?' I asked him, my voice cracking as I struggled not to cry.

‘Like we said, we'll alter her memory. She'll think you're on a European holiday,' Blanche said. She and Talora exchanged a glance. ‘And while Felix is tending to her memory, he can get some of your belongings to make you more comfortable.'

‘I want my phone,' I told her.

She heaved a sigh. ‘We can't risk giving it back to you. Not yet.'

‘Can I just call her? Please?' I begged.

Talora's gaze softened. ‘I'm sorry, dear, but no. Please forgive us for being hard. You are more than welcome to explore the house here and use anything we own.'

I curled back into myself, trying not to think about being in a house full of death's children.

???

It was lunchtime, the day creeping by slowly as the soft sun streamed through the windows. Calum was lying on the carpet as I sat in an armchair watching the television on mute. He kept scoffing as I switched channels because I was unable to focus on one program. Everything bored me.

‘You've been here, how many hours?' Calum cried out as I switched channels yet again. ‘And you've already complained about everything there is to complain about! It should be impossible for someone to be as whiny as you.'

‘I have a right to be annoying,' I snapped at him. ‘You kidnapped me, remember?'

‘Oh move on,' Felix said with a groan as he waltzed into the room and threw a duffel bag of my belongings onto the floor beside me. He towered over me. ‘Nobody's going to hurt you. Blanche said you can even use the computer for research on halflings.'

‘Is she okay?' I asked him instead. ‘My mother, is she alright?'

He nodded, now looking bashful. ‘She thinks you're on a flight to Spain, safe and sound.'

‘Did you hurt her?'

Felix rolled his eyes and shot me a glare. ‘No. I'm not a monster. Besides, I drank from you last night, remember? No need for another feed. That's just being greedy.'

I squeezed my fingers, remembering the evening just gone. ‘Yeah, I remember.'

‘So, you're in Spain … and I'm in hell,' he said and groaned again before plonking down on the royal-blue couch.

‘Why Spain?' I asked Felix. ‘It's the middle of semester.'

‘And?' He shot me a withering glare. ‘Look, I'm incredibly convincing with mind altercation. Up until last night, nobody has ever resisted my compulsion to forget.'

‘You have the charm of a bag of rotten fruit,' I shot back. ‘But she bought it?'

‘Yes,' he said, running a hand through his curls. My heart pounded as he explained. ‘She thought a holiday was just what you needed after all you've been through recently.' His eyes flashed like diamonds as he turned his head towards me. ‘So tell me, what have you been through?'

‘You know, being told my dreams and visions were hallucinations – like I was somehow not normal. Now it seems they are quite possibly real.' I shrugged it off.

‘She knew about it?' he inquired. ‘You told her?'

‘I used to, up until I had to see doctors and psychiatrists who dosed me on medications until I couldn't function. After a particularly bad dosage of meds, I pretended it wasn't happening anymore. I told the doctor I didn't see the people with horns or yellow eyes or white hair. It took some convincing, but it worked.'

He bobbed his head. Calum piped up from his spot on the carpet. ‘Your mother is human, so of course she got scared. Her daughter saw the fabled kind.' At my look, he explained, ‘That's what we are – "The Fabled". You probably saw warlocks if you saw horns. Warlocks have a mark on them that is animalistic, and horns or antlers are common.'

‘What about faeries?' I asked him.

‘They have animal traits sometimes, but it isn't as often. Usually they have their gold blood and some magic. It's usually very minor.'

‘What about the yellow eyes? What being would have white hair?'

‘Lots of lycanthropes would have unnaturally coloured eyes. It's part of being a wolf. Not too sure about the white hair though. Maybe we'll find that out when the council arrives. They have records beyond anything we can research.'

‘Will the council hurt me?'

Felix dragged his head up. He looked bothered by the question. ‘Not even one hair on your annoyingly round head. You're a youngblood, you're one of us.'

‘What's the worst thing that could happen if I weren't a youngblood?'

He shrugged, his eyes fluttering closed for a brief second. ‘Highly doubtful considering you have a Youngblood's mark.'

‘I still don't know what that means.' I looked at the black line on my finger.

‘It's a rune, not a tattoo, but similar. Only the old Fae bloodlines still use them. Someone carved it into your skin at a young age to mark you a youngblood.'

‘Who would do such a thing?'

He made a sound in his throat. ‘I don't know. Your birth parents perhaps? Maybe they wanted to be able to find you later.'

My bottom lip trembled. I felt so confronted by my life. Everything blurred together as hot, sticky tears gripped my lashes. Knowing my mother was not my real parent was awful. She had always tried to take care of me and do what was right for me, but how could it be right to never tell me what I really was? Had she known? The questions flew through my brain at light speed.

Florence called to Calum from the garden, asking for his help. He disappeared down the hallway and into the backyard.

Seeing me crying, Felix brought me a box of tissues and sat down on the floor with me, his face expressionless.

‘How do I find them? My parents,' I asked him.

‘We have to wait for the siblings' he said.

‘I can't just sit here and do nothing.'

Felix swiped his tongue over his bottom lip, his faced creased in thought. ‘The only option I can think is to raid the library.'

‘There's a library here?'

‘Blanche and Talora have one upstairs.' He stood up and offered me his hand. ‘I'll take you to it.'

I took his hand and he pulled me up to my full height. His silver irises, so close to my face, were rich with colour. He turned, still clasping my hand, and trudged up the stairs with me following closely behind. My hand burned from his touch. We reached the landing and Felix opened the door to reveal a room with floor-to-ceiling shelves covered in books of all kinds.

We moved inside and Felix released my hand. My jaw dropped as I inspected the exquisite amount of literature. I picked up a leather-bound book titled, Enchanted Spells for the Damned. Felix snatched it from my hands and put it back on the shelf before I could open the cover.

‘Don't touch! Some of these are grimoires,' he told me.

‘I don't know what that means.'

‘A warlock or witch's spell book. They can be cursed or spelled to ward off intruders and I don't want you hurt by one.' I nodded. Felix side-eyed me. ‘The section on youngbloods is back here.'

We moved further into the room to where a shelf nestled in the back corner near the window. Sunlight streamed across the wall, making all the books glow. Felix pulled out a few books and I did the same. We each gathered a good amount of reading material before returning downstairs. I almost tripped on the staircase under my heavy load but managed to make it to the couch. Felix opened some of the books in his pile and muttered to himself as I busied myself with an encyclopedia.

We worked in silence for a while. I located scarce pieces of knowledge such as the runes Felix had mentioned which were an ancient Germanic form of language, dating back to as long ago as 150 AD. The symbol on my finger, according to the book, translated to ‘fire'. My nose scrunched up as I read further, wondering what could be meant by fire.

Felix looked up from his book, the movement catching my eye. ‘What's your last name?'

‘Stian.'

‘Graceful wanderer,' he muttered. ‘Of course. Typical faeries.'

‘What are you talking about?'

‘They placed you with your mortal mother for a reason. She was chosen. But for what? There has to be something about her.' His eyes flickered over me. ‘What hospital were you born in? Where did your mother say she had you?'

‘Lady Koren Hospital. It's on my birth certificate. Why?'

Felix's eyes widened. ‘The drop-off zone.'

‘What?'

He called for Florence, ignoring me. We waited for her to appear. Florence turned up dressed in a pair of sweaty overalls that had seen the garden one too many times. She wiped her brow and sighed at Felix. ‘You called?'

‘What do you know of Lady Koren Hospital?' he asked, his tone demanding. ‘You once told me a story of how you'd met a warlock there doing business.'

Florence stared at him. ‘Yes, once. It was a long time ago. Many moons have passed since.'

‘Who was the warlock?'

‘Her name was Angel. She wasn't doing any dark spells, just frolicking through the halls and roaming the rooms, looking for assorted medicines for her own collection. Of course she was spelled so no mortal could spot her, but we met in the hallway by accident when I was stealing blood bags. We had a short chat about the weather, what we were both collecting, and then we departed. I've never heard from her since.'

Felix looked like he'd swallowed a sour lolly. When was this?'

Florence frowned. ‘I don't know. Maybe two decades ago?'

‘When's your birthday?' Felix asked me, his eyes sliding towards me for a second.

‘June 1st.'

Florence's face fell. ‘I was there at the end of May.'

‘Did you see anything more?' His tone made me flinch.

Florence shook her head, the dustpan rattling in her clenched hand. ‘No! I swear! Not a thing.'

‘But you talked of a drop-off zone.'

‘It was just passing conversation! The warlock didn't say they did––‘

‘What is a drop-off zone?' Felix asked, his voice like a clap of thunder.

Florence licked her lips, her eyes darting around the room. ‘Fifi, it's just a coincidence— ‘

‘What is it?'

Florence said, ‘Our kind use that hospital, specifically the fourth floor, seventh wing, to drop off unwanted children in amidst the mortal infants. They're spelled, put in a bed and left. But it's so rare, it hardly ever happens. I haven't heard about any infant being left there in years.'

He cut her off again. ‘You knew this and you said nothing?'

‘How could I know she was just another dumped baby?' I flinched again. Florence shot me an apologetic look. ‘I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Not like that.'

‘It's fine.'

She turned back to Felix. ‘I swear I didn't think she could be one of those babies.'

‘You need to find the warlock,' he said. ‘We need to talk to her. She could be the warlock who marked her.'

Florence whined. ‘I wouldn't know where to start.'

‘Go find her. I know you know how. Please. Think of what it could mean for Tabitha.'

Florence side-eyed me, as curious as I was about where his sudden passion had come from. With a sigh, she said, ‘Alright. But it will take some time. I have to call in a few favours.'

‘Do it now,' he demanded. ‘And come back with something. For Tabitha's sake.'

Florence nodded and whizzed up the stairs. Felix turned back to me and sat back on the couch.

I was so confused. Am I just some dumped baby that's been left at a hospital? Who even am I anymore?

‘You wouldn't be a dumped baby,' he said, as if he had read my inner thoughts.

‘But Florence said that hospital has a drop-off zone.'

‘That's incredibly rare. I've heard of such things happening, but it's not as frequent as the name suggests. The birth parents have their child spelled by a warlock to ensure their traits are undetectable, then they choose a family to take their child, making sure they're safe. It's not common but it does happen.'

‘What happens to the kid?'

He blinked at me. ‘I don't really know. Like I said, it happens so rarely that we don't know much. My guess is the child grows up knowing it's different until it's of age, the magic fades, and then they venture into our world.'

I folded myself into a ball, bringing my legs up to my chest and rested my head on my knees. ‘I feel so … unwanted.'

Felix shot me a withering look. ‘You aren't. They chose a parent for you. Specifically, your mum, and all because of her last name. It was like they …' He trailed off, staring into space.

‘Like they what?'

‘Hints!' Felix exploded off the couch. ‘They left you hints.'

‘Hints?' My voice was doubtful. ‘How?'

‘Think. Your last name translates to the Norse word for "wanderer". Your first name is Tabitha, which means beauty and grace. That means "graceful wanderer". They gave you a name which is a hint to who you truly are.'

‘But what does that mean?'

He shook out his hair. His cheeks were red and he looked flustered. ‘I don't know. But we'll figure it out. We must tell Blanche and Talora. They might know something.' He pointed to the books beside me. ‘Look for wanderer meanings in faerie and child of death legends. There will be something.'

Florence ran down the stairs in a flurry. She had wriggled into a sweater, leggings and sneakers, and now stood before Felix, twisting the car keys around her fingers. ‘I'll be back.'

‘Find something, or someone, with a lead,' Felix told her.

‘I'll do my best.' She scurried out the front door and it snapped shut behind her.

Felix huffed and rubbed his face.

I thought about what he had said. If I wasn't dumped, and I was chosen to live with my mother because of her last name, then why had I never known any relatives but my mother and me? How could we look so alike without being biologically related? And how could she think I was her daughter if I weren't human?

‘When Florence comes back, we'll have some answers,' Felix said, breaking me from my train of thought. ‘She'll find something. She knows more than she thinks or remembers. Time is different for us after years of being dead. We tend to muddle our months and years. And Florence has been dead for three centuries. She probably thinks she was there in May, but she could have been there in late June, right after your birth. If your parents were giving you up, you'd have only been a few days old when they had you spelled and put you with your mother.'

‘But why?' my voice broke.

His face was unreadable. ‘I don't know.'