In The Beginning, Chapter 34
Charlie POV
After our very satisfying lunch break, and Daniel had helped me dress, he insisted on carrying me down the stairs, dropping me off on the couch as he stalked off to the kitchen, ignoring my aunt completely. I tried not to take it personally, but it stung a little. Theia seemed oblivious to the tension, and I couldn’t tell if I was more relieved or annoyed. I could hear Daniel, and feel his anger and concern, I turned to the kitchen to investigate.
“The Lycan that opened the door fainted, hit her head. I offered to heal her and tried to aid in removing her from the floor, but the other Lycan woman wouldn’t allow it.” Theia explained.
“Kathy?” I asked, my head shooting back to the kitchen.
“Yes, I believe the other woman called her that.” Theia shrugged.
“She means a lot to Daniel, was she injured?” I asked, my concern evident.
“No, just a small bump to her head when she fell, she should recover soon, with rest.” I nodded, but I felt a pull to the kitchen, a need to help. “You could try to heal her, I could help?” Theia asked, I smiled, relieved, and stood, but Daniel interrupted us before we got the chance.
“Kathy has already gone to the hospital to be checked out. Her husband was close by, so they just left.” He explained.
“Oh, well as long as she is alright, that’s all that matters.” I shrugged, I wasn’t disappointed, so much as guilty for not doing anything to help.
Theia grabbed my hand and led me to the centre of the room.
“In that case, Charlie, I just want you to close your eyes, then reach inside yourself, and feel for your power. It will be hard to find, at first, I don’t want you to think about your previous experiences, they were survival instincts, raw and powerful, but untamed, like an escaped animal, that was caged for too long. This will be far gentler than that, and let it fill you up. Let it warm you from the inside, let it flow freely through your body. Let it infuse every cell with its power.” She instructed, I thought back to when I got my birthday; I could feel the power then, but it felt like it was invading my cells, rather than merely depositing energy. I tried to think about before things went wrong, when my skin glowed with the strange energy, but after several minutes of searching, which felt more like trying to pinpoint the exact spot that was causing pain or discomfort, I still felt nothing. “You are thinking too much, try calling it forth, intention is at the heart of every action.” Theia encouraged. I took a deep breath and focused on the memory of me and Daniel in the bed, how safe I felt in his arms. As soon as I found the warmth inside me, it shot out filling my body, I heard Daniel gasp, and Theia giggled excitedly, as my eyes flew open. My skin was glowing, just like that night, I looked at Daniel, after inspecting myself in the mirror, he had a proud grin on his face as he approached me.
“You are amazing.” He laughed, his hands on my cheeks as he leaned in and kissed me softly. “Now I know you won’t freeze to death at least, go have some fun. The warriors on patrol have left the meadow free for you to use and will keep their distance unless there’s an attack. Do not argue with them if they try and bring you here, those are their orders, to protect you and keep you safe until I get there, or you are safe in this house.” Daniel warned, I huffed, but just because it winds him up, and placed a kiss on his lips.
“I promise to listen to the big bad wolves, but don’t forget it didn’t work out for little red riding hood.” I teased as Theia took my hand and led me out of the house. I still grabbed my coat along the way, and hat and scarf, out of habit, while Theia seemed blissfully happy in another of her scarf\ dress\ jumpsuit things. At least this one had sleeves, and seemed to be every shade of purple, from the lightest lavender, to the darkest indigo, but she was still walking through the snow barefoot. I led her down the garden to the meadow, which was still crisp and untouched, I had the childish urge to make snow angels all over it, but instead, I led Theia to the centre and waited for my next lesson.
“This land is beautiful, I did some research last night, on your Alpha. His people respect him, and his family, they have worked hard for many generations, helped whenever they could. Sacrificed for their people, used their talents to keep not just this town, but many businesses well run. I may have judged him a little harshly at first, I... I know how possessive, and aggressive Lycans can be, I saw them in the beginning. One such as us, would not cope well with a male like that, but your Alpha, is a lot more... circumspect, than I anticipated.” She stated bluntly, and I found myself at a loss of how to respond.
“Okay...” I stalled.
“I will apologise again, my turning up earlier, was a test of sorts. I expected him to react much worse than he did, and I would know his true nature. But he explained his feelings instead, and you both talked things through, it was impressive.” Theia said with a slightly dazed expression.
“Why would that be impressive?” I asked, she gave me a sceptical look.
“Not all stories are complete fabrications. Think about what you know about the Gods, are we fair? Kind? Selfless? Or are we jealous, petty? All the men are misogamists, who rape and abuse the women, just like Zeus and Apollo have been doing for... thousands of years.” Theia went quiet for a moment, and I held her hand in comfort, as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Oh, this is important.” She said as she removed the droplet with great care. She pulled me to the treeline, to an ancient tree, that looked half dead, and let the tear fall at the roots. Instantly the tree was infused with new life, it sounds odd saying it about a tree, but its colour looked better. “Our tears have different properties, mine can create life where there was none, I can give things life, well plants anyway, it is very complicated I know, but you will develop these abilities the more you access your power. Think of it like prolonged exposure, but instead of harming you, you will get stronger, and you will hone your skills.” She explained as we watched the tree, even though it was the middle of winter, every branch had new leaves budding. Theia took my hand, and we began walking around the meadow.
“How did you know about what Daniel, and I talked about?” I asked her suddenly realising what she had said.
“I left a spy, do not worry though, she left before things became intimate.” Theia winked, but I blushed furiously, and almost lost my grip on my powers. “Take a breath and let the power flow through you.” Theia instructed calmly, when my glow dimmed slightly. “This is just as much a test of endurance as well as control.” She explained as she took my hands in hers. She closed her eyes and I saw her skin glow softly, feeling the rush of power coming off of her, it suddenly felt like my every sense was heightened. I could see every individual twig, in the bare trees nearby, and every needle on the pines. I could smell the moisture in the air, and somehow knew we only had an hour or so before the next snowfall. I could taste the cold earth that was exposed between a group of densely packed pines, and I could hear three creatures scavenging for food, two rabbits, and a fox maybe? I looked at Theia in wonder.
“Is this what it’s like for you?” I asked, as I felt my senses stretch as far as they could, I could almost feel Daniel, it was like I could sense a trace of him, but his actual location was too far for me to grasp.
“When I am using a significant amount of power yes, the rest of the time I reduce it, no, that is not the right word, umm.” She looked at me for a moment, and I jumped in automatically.
“You can dial them down, make it all a little less intense, closer to what Lycans, or Fae see?” I offered hesitantly.
“Yes, exactly, I wonder.” She said inspecting me suddenly.
“What?” I asked, a little concerned.
“You may have the ability to sense others’ emotions, it will lead to telepathy, visions, if you are lucky, invisibility, we know you can astral project already, but until now, I was the only one with these particular gifts.” She said with a smile.
“Okay, not sure how I feel about all that, but I suppose I will discover my abilities as I learn.” I replied with a shrug, unsure of how to respond to such an odd situation. “But no more spies in my bedroom.” I said firmly.
“Yes, I am out of practise with Earth, I stayed away too long, but it hurt a lot to see what my creations had become.” She responded sadly. “Athena's realm is not like Earth; it is run by a military force that keeps the peace. There, to not spy on your friends is giving up a tactical advantage, if you engage in an argument and are deemed too aggressive, you will be punished accordingly. It is a tough world, but there is great joy there too. Children are taught and given opportunities, regardless of their birth, the only class system they have is the protectors and the protected. They used to come here from time to time, help the indigenous people fight back an invading army, the people here called them the Amazons. But it was the daughters of Ares title that really pissed her off.” She laughed as we continued our walk around the edge of the meadow.
“Theia?” I asked, when we had walked for nearly a minute in silence. “What happened, to Zeus? Why is he so intent on destroying the planet?” I asked, I knew there had to be more to the story than I had been told so far. Theia took a deep breath and nodded more to herself than to me. She moved her hand over a fallen log, the snow melted instantly, and the wood started drying out, when she was satisfied, she offered me a seat as she took one herself.
“Yes, I think it is time I tell you everything.” Theia replied, she sounded tired but resigned to sharing whatever it was she had lived through. I gave her space, knowing that starting is often the hardest part, once you’ve found the words to explain that, sometimes the rest will follow easier.
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