The phone rang, startled me and I opened my eyes. I was alone in the apartment. Wow, I thought, what a weird dream. I looked out the window, and was shocked to discover that it was dark outside, the clock on the wall said 9:30. Impossible, I could not possibly have slept the ENTIRE day! I grabbed the phone and said hello.
"I've been trying to reach you all day. Where have you been?"
"Oh, hey Scotty! I guess I fell asleep and didn't hear the phone. I've been here all day."
"You feeling ok? It's not like you to sleep the whole day away."
"Yeah, I guess I'm just tired from all the partying we've been doing. Are you coming over here tonight?"
"Sure, if you want. I thought you might want to get some rest tonight."
"I'll sleep better if you're here, I've been having some really strange dreams lately. Why don't you stop for Chinese and a movie, then come over here for the night?"
"Ok, I'll see you in about an hour."
I hung up the phone, then sat there for a minute trying to sort out the events of the day. I was having a hard time distinguishing between reality and dream. I couldn't tell what was real and what was not. Mostly out of frustration, I started to cry.
"Lashana?"
I heard the voice in my head, but it wasn't the usual voice. I was getting just a little tired of everyone knowing who I was, and not knowing who was in my head.
"Who are you?"
"It's me, Kane. I heard you crying and was concerned. Is your head hurting?"
"Kane? You aren't real, you were only a dream."
By this time, I was feeling anything but rational, and was starting to seriously doubt my sanity. After all, hearing voices in your head is not something that rational, sane people do!
"Trust me, Lashana, I am very real. You do know me, and you will remember a little at a time. When you have fully remembered your life and your purpose, we will join."
"What do you mean, join?" I didn't like the sound of that at all."As husband and wife as we were meant to be!"
"WHAT!" I was stunned. Of all the things I had heard lately, I think this one finally put me over the edge.
"KANE! That's enough! You're going to freak her out completely and we'll lose her for good!" That voice I recognized as Takers, and he apparently was not too thrill with Kane's blasé announcement that we would be man and wife.
"Lashana, calm down and listen to me. Kane overstated himself just a little bit, I'll explain everything to you when I see you."
"What do you mean, when you see me?" I had no intention of seeing either one of them again. After the last few days, I was hoping I would never have to hear their voices again either!
"We need to finish what we started, and the sooner the better. Some rather strange things are going to start happening to you and you won't be able to deal with them if you don't know the whole truth about your history. I want to you come to our hotel tonight. We are staying at the Executive West Hotel, do you know where that is?"
"Of course I know where it is, and what do you mean - strange things? I believe these last two days have been as strange as anything could be!"
"Trust me, Lashana. You know in your heart that you can, just follow that instinct. Be there around 7:00am. I promise I will explain everything."
Then, the voices were gone and I was left as confused and frustrated as I had been all along. The funny thing was, that I did, deep down, feel as though I could and should trust both Taker and Kane with my life. I had no way to explain that feeling, no basis for it at all, but it was there. It was about 10:00 and I knew the Scotty would be there soon. I would have to wait to make a decision, because Scotty would know that something was up. I couldn't explain what was happening and I didn't want it to distract me. I was fairly deep in thought about the whole situation when I heard a knock at the door.
I opened the door and saw Scotty, flowers in hand, standing at the door. As always, just the sight of him and the sound of his voice lightened my mood and made me smile. I loved him more deeply than I ever thought was possible, and I knew that he loved me just as much.
"Oh Scotty, they are so beautiful. You always know just the right thing to make my day!" I took the flowers from him and he followed me to the kitchen, where I put them in some water.
"So, what have you been up to today?" It was such a typical Scotty conversation starter, and I felt so safe and comfortable with him. More than anything I wished that I could tell him what had been happening, but something as usual was preventing me from saying the words.
"Oh, not much, just took a nap and did some straightening around here. Just enjoying my day off. How was your day?"
It never fails to amaze me, that as insane as my life was becoming at that point, my conversations were still very mundane and simple. I guess that is life's way of keeping your feet grounded when life is running around you.
We spent most of the rest of that evening curled up on the couch watching movies. Scotty is one of the best cuddlers I know and there is nothing better in the world that snuggling up next to your true love and watching some old movies. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I had one of the strangest dreams that I believe I have ever had in my life.
I was in a dark room and I was surrounded on all sides by images, some of them I recognized as my past, but there were others that, although I recognized myself in them, I had no recollection of them ever happening. They were hazy, and somewhat unclear, but they were at the same time brightly colored. (you know how dreams can be like that sometimes). There was one image that I saw, and it help my fascination for the longest time. It was obviously me, except I was wearing some sort of black leather outfit, that I would never in a million years picture myself in, and over a period of minutes my shape would change. It would start with my arms, and slowly my entire physical presence appeared to be that of a black panther. Then, just as I adjusted to that image my shape would change back to human form.
I stood and watched this transformation in my dream for what seemed like a long period of time, until I felt another presence with me. I looked to my right and Kane was there. Somehow this didn't surprise me, but comforted me. He took my hand and led me away from the image, shaking his head as if telling me that I was not ready for that yet. I followed him without resistance and he led me to a vale. I saw there one of the most beautiful streams, with wild flowers by the bank birds flying around in the trees. He left me there, and at that point I woke up.
I looked around, and realized that Scotty must have carried me to the bed at some point, because I was in my room and he was sleeping peacefully beside me. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:00 am and I got up to get something to drink and think about the truly bizarre dream that I had just had. That dream, was the real reason that I decided to go to the hotel to see Taker and Kane later that morning. I headed back to bed and crawled in next to Scotty, who reached for me automatically and pulled me against him. I was asleep shortly and slept soundly for the hour that was left before the alarm went off for Scotty to go to work.
I got up with him, although he kept telling me to stay in bed. I knew that if I went back to bed I would fall asleep and miss my appointment for that morning. I kissed Scotty good by at about 6:00 and then hurried to jump in the shower to be at the hotel at 7:00. It occurred to me, while I was in the shower that I had no idea what room I was supposed to go to, but figured that if they could talk to me in my head, they would figure a way for me to find them.
By this point, I had started taking some of these things to be common place. The voices in my head, for instance, were no longer a frightening thing that I believed was the first stage of schizophrenia, but were actually kind of familiar. I realized that I had actually missed them while I was getting dressed that morning.
I finished dressing and headed to the hotel and although I was running about 10 minutes behind schedule I still managed to get there by 7:00am. I parked the car and headed into the hotel, at which point I very plainly heard someone tell me to go to room 375.
See, I told you they'd let me know!
I approached the room, and just as I was about to knock on the door it opened and I was pulled inside.
"Well, good morning to you too! Was that really necessary?" I snapped as Taker shut the door behind me. "Could you not have just opened the door and let me in?"
"We can't risk anyone knowing you are here right now. There are people watching us and some of the are looking for you."
"What do you mean, looking for me? Who on earth would be looking for me that I don't want to find me? I think you owe me an explanation, and I think you owe me one now!"
I was feeling a little irritable, due to the abrupt greeting that I had received. I noticed Kane sitting in the corner, head tilted to the side, watching me as he did before, only this time I got the feeling there was a little bit of humor to his look, almost as if he were laughing at me.
"What do you find so funny? Huh? I get up at some ungodly hour on my vacation and drive all the way out here because you 'summoned' me last night and then I get hauled into this room like I'm some sort of criminal hiding out from the CIA."
"Lashana, calm down. Everything will be clear to you in just a little while. We have to finish what we started the other day before we can give you the explanation that you want. Why don't you go over there and sit with Kane so we can get started."
"I don't think this is a good idea. I was quite sure I had dreamt you two up the other day, but since I apparently didn't the pain I experience was also real and I really don't care to repeat that. I've dealt with headaches before, but I don't usually run around letting people I barely know give them to me."
At that point Kane stood up, walked over to me and basically picked me up carried me to the bed. I thought briefly about kicking and screaming, but realized quickly that that would get me nowhere. Both of these men were big enough to stop any resistance on my part in the blink of an eye. Also, although his manner was a bit threatening, I knew somewhere deep inside me that Kane would never willingly hurt me. He sat down on the bed, leaning against the headboard and settled me between his legs in front of me.
"Lashana, you know you can trust me, you proved that in your dreams last night. You also know that I would never hurt you intentionally. If you will just rely on that trust, and relax, you will feel NO pain!"
Kane's voice in my head was so reassuring, and the reference to my dream, although startling, made me feel better. I did know that I could trust him, and although to this day I can not explain why, I relaxed against him and closed my eyes.
I felt his hands on the back of my head and neck and although the pressure of his thumbs on the base of my head increased slightly, there was no real pain. I began seeing images, some similar to the ones I had seen last night. It was as if a curtain was being lifted on a stage and my life was playing out before me. I saw events that took place around me, that I had been unaware of as a child, and some of them were startling. The one thing that was always constant, was the presence of Kane hovering in the background. Apparently he had been there all my life.
I saw images of several events, where, had he not been there, I surely would have died. There were times in the car when I was driving late at night and nearly fell asleep, that he would nudge me awake and keep me from swerving off the road. He was functioning almost in the capacity of Guardian Angel, only I knew for a fact that this man was NO angel. Similar images passed in front of my eyes, some I recognized, some I didn't, but they all had a familiarity to them that made them unmistakably mine.
I felt the pressure of Kane's thumb on the back of my head start to lessen and then it was done. The curtain that had returned during our first session was gone for good, and I felt an overwhelming sense of something mystical and special in my head. I knew that I was destined for something special with these two men, but the full impact of that purpose and destiny would not come until later.
When I opened my eyes, I half expected them to be gone, for this all to have been another dream, but they were still there. I was still sitting on the bed between Kane's legs and Taker was sitting on the end of the bed, watching me intently.
"How do you feel?"
"A little weird, but my mind seems very clear. I never realized before how foggy it seemed on occasion."
"You were not supposed to be clear until you were able to understand and control your talents. Those that want to harm you would have known you're whereabouts too easily if your mind had been open."
"So what is keeping them from finding me now? I still have no idea what theses 'talents' you keep referring to are, so I could not possibly be controlling anything."
"We are controlling them for you while you are learning to use them properly. It is a little more complicated than just shutting off your knowledge of them, but we can't train you properly unless you know what we are doing."
As some of you might have noticed, I was getting fairly comfortable at having a conversation both via thought with Kane and vocally with Taker. I assume that this comfort came from the lifting of the curtain that concealed my 'talents' and protected me in the years of my childhood.
"Ok, so if my knowledge of my 'talents' had been shut off, who was it taht shut it off?" I was trying really hard to understand what was going on, but some things were just not making sense.
"Grendlin shut off all knowledge shortly after you were born. It was fairly obvious that you would have some significant 'talents' and after the first attempt was made on your life, it was decided that you should be hidden and protected until such a time as you could use them to their full advantage."
"Who or what is this Grendlin? And what do you mean hidden?"
"Grendlin is king of the mid-world, he is a Nordrath and is your true father. You were born of an agreement between him and your human mother. She had been unable to bear children after the birth of her first child, and she agreed to care for you in exchange for the return of her fertility. She loved you and cared for you as though you were her very own, and she will be handsomely rewarded for that."
My mind was reeling at that point. Processing the information that was given to me was becoming increasingly difficult. In the space of five minutes I had been told that I was not who I thought I was and that my parents were not truly my parents. I was, however, compelled to continue with the discussion.
"So if she is not my real mother, who is?"
"Your real mother's name is Purr'Sha. She is queen of a very special race known as Cithra. You will learn more of them soon enough. Much of your training will involve Cithra abilities."
"Ok, let me get this straight. Your telling me that I am the daughter of a Nordrath king and a Cithra Queen? Why have I never heard of these races before?"
"These races are just a few of those that exist is the mid-world. You have lived your young life as a human and humans have no perception of the mid-world."
"Ok, this may sound like a dumb question, but I'll just blame it on the blond streak in my hair. Where is the mid-world?"
"Mid-world exists on a plane between that of earth and of the land of the gods. Citizens of the mid-world are there to serve as protectors of the people of earth. The gods have been in a war since the beginning of time against Kordac'Nol. He is one of the lesser gods, and he has an unquenchable desire to control the universe. With out the mid-world, the human race would have been destroyed in this war a long time ago."
"Ok, so I'm supposed to be protecting the people of earth from a god named Kordac'Nol? I don't think I can do that, no matter how many 'talents' you think I might have, I am not strong enough to stop a god."
"No, Lashana, the god's made it impossible for Kordac'Nol to physically enter the human realm and cause any physical damage himself, the only thing he can do is to control the minds of the evil and let them carry out his work here on earth. You are here to protect the humans from themselves."
"I don't know about all this. It sounds like your making me out to be some sort of Super Hero, and I'm no where near that. I'm just a college student trying to earn a living and get my degree."
"Lashana, I know you don't understand all this, but you must understand that what we do, we do for your own safety. The next few months are going to be very difficult for you, and the harder you fight the truth, the more difficult they will be."
"Its just so much to deal with. I don't think I'm strong enough mentally or physically to handle this. You're asking me to change my entire life and accept truths that I've never known until this moment."
I was really starting to get frustrated, and the weight of what they had told me had only begun to sink in. I got up off the bed and started pacing the room of the hotel. I glanced at the clock and noticed that it was 4:30 in the afternoon. I had been there all day.
"Look, its late, and I am so tired of thinking right now that I could scream. I need to go home and rest, talk with Scotty a little and get my thoughts in order."
Taker looked at me, and I could tell I was not going to like what he had to say.
"You can't say anything about this to Scotty! Not yet anyway. The more people know the truth about you, the easier it will be for the underlings of Kordac'Nol to find you. Once they find you, there is no way to know what they will do. We have to put that off as long as possible. Once you have full control of your talents, you will be able to defend yourself from them rather easily, but until then you are vulnerable to both physical and mental attacks."
"I can't lie to him, and he's going to eventually start to suspect something. I will not lose the only man I've ever loved simply because you are afraid of some nasty gods underlings. I have to tell him something!"
"Wait just a few more days, if he is the man you believe him to be, you will not lose Scotty in that time. We can help you with some basic training and then you will be able to tell him the whole truth. He will learn of it eventually anyway."
I looked at Kane, and then I remembered something he had said to me the other day. "Why should I believe you, just the other day you were telling me that we would be married. If that's true, then would it not be in your best interest if Scotty left me?"
"Lashana, I told you the other day that Kane misspoke himself just a little. You are to be a member of a select group of women, all of whom are Brides of Kane. You will eventually join with them and him, but it will be a spiritual and emotional joining, not a physical one. You belong to Kane, your relationship with Scotty has no bearing on that."
I sat in the corner chair in the room and just looked at the two of them. My head was starting to hurt and I was getting hungry. I needed to get out of there and get some fresh air and sort things out in my head.
"You're right, Lashana, you need some time and some space to think about all of this. You should go home now and rest. I can help with the headache before you go if you would like."
"You have got to stop that! You can't just read my thoughts whenever the fancy strikes. It is just not appropriate. And no, I will take some aspirin when I get home and my head will be fine."
Taker laughed at that, and I gave him a rather sharp look. He stopped laughing and just smiled at me.
"Lashana, it is nearly impossible for Kane and I not to read your thoughts when you throw them out they way you do. That is one of the first things you are going to have to learn; how to think more quietly!"
"Go on and go home for now. We will control your power and try to muffle your thoughts as best we can from here, but you have to be careful. I've noticed you have a tendency to converse with yourself in your head. You've done it for years, but until now it has not been dangerous. You can no longer do that. You MUST control your thoughts."
I stood to get ready to go, and all of the sudden I felt a tiny tinge of fear. If what they said was true, there was quite possibly someone waiting to do me physical harm. The thought of going out there all alone was a little daunting to say the least.
"We will be no more than a thought away from you at all times. All you need do is think our names and we will be there for you."
It is amazing to me how true that statement was, thinking back on it now. In the years since, all it took was a thought and he or Taker, or on occasion both, were there for me, either mentally or physically, whatever the occasion or need required.
I headed home from the hotel around 5:00, and decided to stop on the way home to pick up some dinner. I figured Scotty would be at the apartment around 6:30, and I wanted to be there when he arrived. I ran into the grocery, and picked up a pasta salad and some bread for dinner.
I got home around 5:30, grabbed the groceries and headed in the house. When I got to the porch there was a little squirrel sitting there. As was my habit, and I know this is going to sound strange, I looked at the squirrel and said hi. I nearly dropped the groceries when he replied.
I shook my head thinking maybe I was hearing things, then I figured there was only one way to find out. I put the groceries down and sat in the lawn chair on the porch. The squirrel was on the railing, just sitting there looking at me.
"Did you just say something to me?" Yes, before you ask, I felt a little silly sitting here on the porch talking to a squirrel. At least until he responded.
"Yes, of course I responded to you. You want to come play for a while?"
Squirrels as a species are always looking for someone to play with, and I guess they assume that everyone else is the same. I laughed when he asked me that and told him that I didn't have time to play, that I had things I had to get done.
"Well, too bad for you. I'll see you around I guess." And with that he scampered off to the nearest tree.
I sat on the porch for a while, the groceries completely forgotten. I must have spaced out pretty good, because I didn't hear Scotty coming around the corner. I jumped when he spoke my name.
"Hey you! Where have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day."
"Just out running errands and enjoying the weather. How was your day?" And so went the rest of the evening.
It was somewhat amazing to me that Scotty never thought it was odd that I didn't talk more about my day, but I was thankful. I really didn't want to have to lie to him. Scotty stayed the night with me, as was becoming habit and got up the next morning to go to work. Since I was on vacation that week, I was able to stay in bed and catch up on some much needed rest.
It was about 11:00 in the morning when I heard a knock at the door. I sat up, wondering who was at the door.
"Its Kane. We have some things we must do today. Come let me in."
I mumbled something about him reading my mind, but then I remembered that it was probably my fault. I still hadn't mastered the concept of controlling my thoughts. I threw on my robe and went to open the door.
"Why do you even bother to knock. I know you have some pretty nifty travel options available to you, why don't you just poof yourself into the apartment?"
"It doesn't work quite like that Lashana. I can't walk through walls, you have to create an opening for that to happen. The opening can be mental or physical, but it must be created by one of my Brides."
"Now that's an interesting concept. So, who are these Brides you keep talking about. When will I get to meet them? Are they like me?"
"All of your questions will be answered soon. Right now you need to get dressed so that we can start your training."
"Where are we going anyway?" I know, it sounds like a useless question, but I did want to dress appropriately.
"The Zoo. Taker will meet us there in about 20 minutes, so you need to hurry."
The mention of the zoo brought back the memory of the conversation I had the previous evening with the squirrel and I decided that now was as good a time as any to find out if I was losing my mind or not.
"Speaking of the zoo, I had an odd run in yesterday with a squirrel. I think he actually spoke to me. Am I going crazy or what?"
Kane actually laughed at that. It was more a mental vibration than a physical sound, but it was definitely a laugh. "No, your not going crazy. That kind of thing is probably going to happen quite often. One of the gifts of the Cithra is the ability to communicate with animals. This talent will come is real handy when you start to learn to shape shift."
"When I start to learn to WHAT?"
"We don't have time to discuss it now, you need to get dressed. My brother gets a little testy when he has to wait, and I really don't feel like dealing with that today."
"Fine, but I expect an explanation soon." With that said, I headed to my room and threw on some clothes. I pulled my hair up into pony tail and we headed out the door and to my truck.
"So, why is it that you don't attract attention walking around in public? That mask would get just about anyone else arrested in this city."
"We are all blessed with the ability to make our selves unnoticeable. It is possible for you to walk down a crowded street and blend in so well that no one will even remember you passing them, regardless of your dress or actions."
"Hmm, that's interesting. I bet it comes in handy quite often too!"
I felt that same vibration, and knew that I had tickled him again. It seemed odd to me that I had been able to pick up on his cues so quickly. I decided that it must have something to do with the link that Taker said Kane and I had. Presumably it had something to do with this Bride thing.
We got to the zoo in about 10 minutes and headed in side and found Taker watching the gray wolves near the back of the zoo. He looked up as we approached, and he turned and led us toward the access roads for the zoo workers.
We headed up the hill, and turned a corner. I had volunteered here for many years, so I knew where we were headed. There is an area of the zoo where they keep the retired animals. Those, that have been on display for several years and deserve a break from the constant human interaction. We walked past the old lion, Tanner, and a couple of the birds that had been retired. He was apparently interested in Banya, the black panther.
As we approached the area, Banya walked over to the fence. The interaction with the squirrel last night was no preparation for the fact that this panther not only spoke to me, but he actually knew my name.
"Hello, Lashana. It's been a long time since I've seen you."
I took a step back and looked at both Kane and Taker. They just stood there, with their backs to me watching the area, so I figured the only thing I could do was respond.
"Hi Banya. I know its been a while, but when they retired you, they put you off limits to volunteers as well as the rest of the visiting community. I couldn't get back here to see you. I didn't think it mattered much, since I had no idea that you even realized who I was."
"Of course it mattered, your mother converses with me often, it was the only way for her to get information about you. She couldn't very well come check on you herself."
"You talk to my mother? I assume you mean Purr'Sha. I have never met her, so she is somewhat of a fiction for me still. It's nice to know that she was checking on me though. I'd hate to think she sent me here and then forgot about me. I assume that I was brought to you for a reason. What is it?"
"I am to help you learn one of the most important of your talents. Kane and Taker can teach you the mind tricks and how to control your talents to shield yourself and the ones you love, but you need one of your own kind to teach you the physical transformation."
"Physical transformation? Are you talking about Shape shifting? Kane mentioned that earlier, but I thought he was joking."
"No, he was not joking. Transforming, or shape shifting as humans like to call it, is an art and quite a useful tool to have, it makes it possible for you to enter or escape any area relatively easily. It is a tool that is not normally taught until later in training, but given the danger you are facing here, it has been decided that we will cover it now."Continue