Half Blood

Half Blood

Stacey Cook

Prologue

         Theirs was a coupling that was doomed from the beginning. They were destined to die as soon as they felt the first stirrings of love for each other. He was a werewolf of the pack Morrigu, and she was a water fairy that was well loved by the fey of the Tuatha De Danann. Few know how they met, but from that moment they became inseparable. Their names were Bridie and Keegan. They would be remembered always by those of their kind as a cautionary tale or as a legend of great love. Species of the supernatural were forbidden to ever breed outside of their own kind. This was a law punished by death. The couple attempted to hide away in the human world, wishing to escape the rules of their kind and bask in each other’s love. They managed for little more than a year when the combined armies of their kind came for them.

Were and fey joined together to obliterate the unsanctioned coupling. Their deaths were quick, but as their bodies slumped to the ground in death their hands remained clasped. When the last ember of life had extinguished from them, all those gathered turned to leave with heavy hearts.

The last to leave were two female werewolves. They both turned and looked back at the remains with tears falling silently from their faces. The older of the two was the mother of the man that had been murdered today by his own kin. The woman beside her was the man’s niece, barely more than a teenager she had worshipped him. Though they were a part of the Morrigu pack, they were now all that was left of their family. They turned to each other and hugged briefly then turned to leave. That was when they heard the gentle whine closely followed by the furious cry of an infant.



         Evelyn and Arlana didn’t know what to expect from this little one as she grew. Would she be a werewolf or a fey? Her appearance gave no indication; she looked like any other beautiful human baby. Honey brown locks stuck up in every which direction and she had wide blue eyes full of curiosity. If they were to guess the child’s age it would be six months, but she already stood within her playpen when put down.

When the first full moon came, they decided to test the young tike. Evelyn carried the baby, lovingly swaddled in a blanket, out the door of their secluded home. She placed the baby in the playpen they had situated out in the yard. Soon the sun would set and the moon would announce its presence to the two-natured. Their search through Bridie and Keegan’s things presented nothing more than a few pictures, no papers that proclaimed a name for their forbidden child were found. Arlana joined Evelyn at the baby’s playpen with a bottle. If the young one didn’t change she could sleep the night away under the stars. They didn’t have long to wait. Evelyn and Arlana’s bodies began to gyrate with the shivers of energy from the moon’s influence. Their bodies were forced into a crouch from the spasms and they promptly accepted the transformation. As both had completed the change they looked up simultaneously to view the child, but the baby continued to bounce happily in her playpen as if they had just put on a show to entertain her. Each took their turn to hunt, and then both claimed an end of the playpen and lay on either side to sleep. They would be her guards that night and protect her from any possible harm.

The next day they were awoken by the child’s impatient screams. Each grabbed a robe to cover their nudity and Arlana cradled the soiled baby in her arms as Evelyn prepared her bath. “She isn’t a were, or not predominantly. How will we know how to raise her?” Arlana asked.

“We will raise her as a human. We are all the family we have left.” Evelyn responded while reaching for the youngster. As she placed the bare child into the water the baby began to shake and Evelyn could feel the energy as it entered the little girl. The surprise made her drop the baby into the water. Evelyn jumped forward to pull her up before she swallowed the water, but the infant was already swimming up from the water with a brilliant smile on her face. She looked up at her grandmother and then dunked her body under the water and tried her best to move around in its shallow depth.

         Two weeks later the women prepared again for the full moon. This month they would have two full moons. It is an occurrence that happens about every two and a half years, called a blue moon. Everything was exactly the same as the night weeks before. They prepared the baby. They slung their robes over the side of the porch in preparation for the morning. They stood side by side waiting for the moon. After they transformed Arlana turned immediately toward the forest to hunt, but was stopped by the bark of Evelyn, and a gentle whimpering. Amazed she turned back to see her little cousin had made the change after all. The little one’s blanket and diaper littered the playpen in torn bits. In the center of the playpen sat an adorable, black wolf pup. The beautiful blue eyes, they had become accustomed to, were now the shining golden color of her father’s.

Chapter One

         The wind was crisp on Marella’s face as she crept out the back door and stopped at the bottom step of the porch to glance over her shoulder and slip her shoes onto her feet. It was about half past midnight and everyone had finally fallen asleep. She lingered for just a moment to see if she had been discovered slipping out, but the windows remained dark and the house quiet. A playful smile spread across her face as she imagined their surprise in the morning. They would be angry and accuse her of being careless, but her first adventure would be worth it. She had spent every day of her twenty years in or near this farm house, closely watched over by her loving grandmother Evelyn and her protective cousin Arlana.

All her life they had told her how dangerous the world was and how they must always stick closely together, but Marella had never known anything bad or disturbing or even interesting to happen near their small farm. She had been home-schooled (for her own protection) and had only formed relationships (beyond her family) with the characters in her favorite books. It was time that she saw a bit of the world beyond the forest that surrounded her home, and talked with people outside of her small family. Also, some part of her realized that there was some secret about her life that her family had kept hidden from even her, that she had to discover. There had to be some reason she had been hidden away her whole life.

Marella restrained the urge to giggle as she reached the edge of the forest. The pack she carried with the bare essentials bounced happily on her back with each step she took toward her freedom. As she stepped into the line of trees she felt a shiver of energy soar down her body, like a life force that dwelled there had caressed her as she entered its domain in welcome. Giddiness overcame her and after the slightest of hesitations she ran full out through the forest. Not really having a destination in mind, Marella just ran with a wild abandon through the trees in as straight a line as she could manage. She felt as she imagined a dog would feel if he finally managed to break free of his leash. Her mind became a complete blank, no thought beyond ‘run’ and as obstacles came, she merely leapt over them and continued to run.

         As Marella ran she felt the sting of the wind on her eyes and decided to try and run faster, and she didn’t slow until tears began to glisten down her cheeks. For some reason it felt unnatural to blink, and she didn’t do so until she slowed to a near walk. The exhilaration of her run made her heart beat an unsteady tempo against her chest, and she came to a complete stop, taking a deep breath to slow it down. The air that rushed into her lungs brought with it new scents, a suffocating smell of something burning and an overwhelming smell of wind blowing freely without trees to slow its graceful dance through the sky.

         She had come to the end of the trees so quickly. Looking down towards the bottom of the hill she could see a fence blocking the busiest street she could imagine. The horrid smell came from this busy street as the automobiles that passed left behind them thin veils of smoke. Though most of her knowledge of the world came from books, they had not prepared her for this. She watched the people driving up and down the street quickly, focusing on the stretch before them; they looked like slightly more than zombies as they raced passed on their way to their unknown destinations. An urge to test her speed against such amazing machines burst forth and was just as quickly squashed as she heard the voice of her cousin Arlana in her head, “We don’t bring attention to ourselves. We stick together. Others don’t understand us and are dangerous. We have to remain hidden to survive. One day you’ll understand everything, but until that day you must stay with your family.”

         Today would be the first day of beginning to understand, she would no longer hide. She would become a part of the world instead of hiding from it. A solid plan and a determined will would help her to succeed. First she would appease her curiosity about the world around her. There were things that she had read about that she felt a burning desire to see before she put her plans into action. The greatest of those desires had been to see the ocean. Marella pulled her pack around to the front of her body and riffled through it until her hand successfully emerged with the desired map. She quickly plotted out the directions she must take and took off running once again in the cover of the trees.

         Marella ran for hours on end, always staying out of sight of the roads and houses. Being hidden was something she was an expert at, and by sunset that evening she had reached her destination. Miles away, the sea had announced itself with the scent of salty mist, sea creatures, summer, and life. It was more than could ever have been expected after reading about it. The scent of the ocean was intoxicating and pulled at some string within the depth of Marella. Absent now was her hurry to reach the water. She wanted nothing more at this moment than to treasure her introduction to this great water. Its wild cascading waves reflecting the dying embers of sunlight enthralled her. She came to an abrupt halt mere feet from the ocean foam reaching for the shore. So enthralled was she, that she didn’t notice the man standing a mere ten yards away watching her.

Marella walked slowly toward the water, the way a lover would walk toward a man to tempt him. With each step she took she became ever more aware of the graceful moves of the water, until her hips began to sway in rhythm with the waves. Taking a deep breath was like gulping down a mouthful of the salty water. As her toes first sank into the foamy waves, a vibration of energy swept through her. It was the most invigorating experience of her life, like there was a connection from her to each animal within the depths of the ocean. Each step she took, submersed more of her into the water, and made her more aware of her body. With a squeal of delight, she dived head first into the water.