Chapter 20

A wave of nostalgia washed all over me as I appeared at the riverside. I saw the broken railing, the part where Vin had torn off to use as a weapon. I saw the gushing waters, felt the cold air. I breathed in deep, expelling it in a sigh of relief. There was nowhere in the world that I could compare Seattle’s cold air to.

Even though I’d been living with Kote for the past few months, I had no single freaking idea of where Kote kept his hidey hole. There was never a window, and the design of the rooms showed me nothing. I couldn’t even place my mind on where in the whole Earth Kote hid himself –and me.

But I was back to Seattle.

Closing my eyes, I used my newly learnt skill and changed my appearance. Instead of the Dru I normally was, I changed into a normal young woman, tweaking my hair color from my natural bright red to red with blue streaks.

Then I reconsidered it, and changed it to black, to fit the clothes Kote had taken upon himself to gift me. Kote was definitely someone who knew how to buy woman’s clothes, because, for the few months I’d been with him, the clothes I wore were simply gorgeous upon my body. I was almost close to getting fashion advice from my Master.

Closing my eyes, I willed myself to appear before the Dark Wind.

Lanier was there, his trained eye scanning the place. His eyes narrowed as he spotted, but he showed no signs of recognition.

“Who are you? Why have you come here without the permission of the Keeper?”

“I am aware that your Keeper is temporarily not around. I’m only here for a short visit. My name is Lornie. Please, I only desire a drink and someone to talk to.” I made my voice indefinitely higher, making sure that Lanier wouldn’t recognize me. With my new appearance and rumor of my death, the only people I was afraid of recognizing me were Lanier, Faith and –maybe, just maybe –Cole.

Lanier scrutinized me carefully, and I struggled not to burst into tears and hugging him. I’d never ever thought that I would return to Seattle, and see him so vigilantly guarding Dark Wind. Being absent these few months; I had missed Seattle so much.

“Who is your Master?” He asked carefully.

I stilled for a short while. Should I tell him? Wind or Kote? No, it would raise alarms, without a doubt.

“He is long dead and none of our concern at the present.” I announced with finality in my tone. Even without my normal appearance and voice, Lanier knew the sound of authority when he heard one.

“Come on in. Speak to Faith; she is the one in charge while our Keeper is away.” Lanier grumbled as he opened the door behind him, shifting to one side to allow me in. I thanked him politely and walked in carefully.

The air of coldness that slapped me caused the air inside my lungs to rush out. My nightstalkers were there, still drinking. But chat was practically non-existent. Words were not exchanged as everyone only managed to look more brooding than anything. They just looked at each other over their cups, silently exchanging looks. No one, other than Faith, looked over to where I was. Cole was leaning on the table at this stall, hiding his face in the sanctuary of his arms.

I looked around, pretending to be new to the Dark Wind. Nothing had changed, but yet everything seemed new and different to me. Jaye looked up as I approached the bar, her eyes impassive as she tracked my approach.

“What will you have?” Her tone was all business; none of the friendliness she normally used when I was around.

“Bloody Mary with a kick.”

Jaye looked at me blankly. Slowly, she nodded and moved to get the ingredients.

“Make it an O positive.” I added, earning a grunt of acknowledgement from her as she ducked into the store.

“You are new to Seattle, but not to life, aren’t you?” Faith came over to my side, fluidly sliding into the seat beside mine.

Silently, I nodded my head slowly. Faith knew me the best; she would spot the real me if she looked carefully. But, as I looked her up and down, I realized that she looked a wreck. She wasn’t in her trade-mark high heels; only a pair of simple flip flops. Her hair was a mess, and there were that haunted look in her eyes. Damned, something must have happened while I was away.

“You did not ask for permission to enter Seattle.” Faith pointed out, though still gently.

I nodded, and then cleared my throat. “That is why I am here, am I not? I am aware that the Keeper is temporarily unavailable. I am to contact someone called Faith…?”

“That will be me.”

Of course it was her, but I had to act surprise, for the sake of keeping appearances.

“Well, nice to meet you, Faith. My name is Lornie, and I am nothing but a traveler stopping by for a drink and someone to talk to. I have heard many rumors of the Great Seattle, put under the thumb of a Keeper who seems to be missing for quite some time.” My plain words had Faith almost flinching at the critical words of her Master.

But rumors were true; I had been gone for months without trace.

“She is away on business.” The cold iciness in her voice wasn’t forced.

“Or dead? I’ve never heard of a Keeper leaving her domain for an unknown business for so long.” I replied sarcastically, tipping the bloody cocktail that Jaye offered down. Damned, no one could beat Jaye’s perfect blending.

Faith glared at me quietly, her lips pressed into a hard, furious line, struggling between a head-on fight and a diplomatic way to shoo me away from Seattle. Despite my long absence, it warmed my heart to know that Faith still bothered about the reputation of her Master.

“Never mind. Is the other Reyzon here? Anneson Reyzon?” I interjected before she could speak.

“What do you want with him?” Faith’s reply was instantaneous and protective, which I fought back a smile at. Trust Faith to take care of my brother, despite him being human and all.

I feigned a nonchalant shrug. “I happen to be a Magic Manipulator myself. I am naturally curious of what secrets the only Reyzon left has. Incidentally, is the Hunter here too? Rumor has it that he is the long missing Master of Magic Manipulation.”

Faith opened her mouth to reply, but the voice that sounded wasn’t hers.

Internally, I cursed myself for being as complacent of my blood and power as I jerked in surprise in my seat. Had I not been so full of myself, I would not have been so surprised when Xavier spoke. At the sound of his voice, my heart skipped a beat, before I forced it back in check.

“What does a nightstalker like you want with a Hunter like me?”

The smile I put on as I turned to face him was all too genuine, although his face turned suspicious immediately. The words I had ready in my mouth fell away the moment I saw him.

If Faith looked like a wreck, then Xavier looked as if he’d just survived a nuclear blast. His clothes looked as if they had been worn for weeks; dirtied and torn in many different places. He was unshaven; his hair messed in the worst possible way. His jet black hair, which had always been neat –or at least deliberately messed in a neat way –,was now simply unkempt as they flew everywhere, covering his eyes, sticking in the many directions.

Yet, of all, it was his eyes that took the words away. Normally, it was always a depthless black, or at least clear black. Once, I saw furious swiveling in the black of his eyes, but now, there was nothing. Just flat black eyes. Impassionate, unemotional eyes.

“What do you want with Anneson Reyzon, or me? What is it in us sorcerers that you are so interested in?” Xavier prompted when my mouth hung open, plain gaping at him.

What happened to you? Are you well? I struggled not to release a tirade of questions at him.

“I happen to be a Magic Manipulator myself, and am always naturally interested with the workings of the sorcerers in the Families. Needless to say, the skills of the Master and Mistress pique my curiosity.” I lied as smooth as I could manage, surprised that I even had words for him.

What was it that made Xavier look so disheveled? He looked as if he hadn’t been sleeping. He looked as if nightmares had been haunting him.

“And rumors lead you here?” His tone was suspicious, but I could hear that his attention was not fully focused on his question, or the conversation. He was thinking of something else.

“Yes. Might I ask you if you’ve been sleeping well? You look horrible.”

The suspicion flared across his face again as he spied me. “What concern is it of yours?”

I shrugged again, trying not to notice his beauty, despite his lethargic appearance.

“I may have picked up a few skills to ease you with nightmares.”

“And what do you think you can do which I, the Master of Magic Manipulation, cannot?” His voice was insulted and defensive, but I understood his intense suspicion.

“Trust me.” I said simply.

I watched Xavier open his mouth to refuse flatly, but strangely, the word didn’t come out. His mouth was open as he looked at me, but there were no sounds as he only stared. Then he closed his mouth, and looked at me more carefully.

“You… You’ve got Dru’s eyes.”

Shit. I turned away quickly. “Who is Dru?” My question was a little wavering.

“Dru? Is that you?” Xavier’s voice became gentle and soft, and Faith gave a small sigh beside me.

“Xavier, she is Lornie. Dru… she has been gone for months. She is not here.” Faith said carefully and slowly, taking Xavier’s eyes to hers. I stifled a gasp at the painful hope in Xavier’s eyes.

Goodness.

“But look at her! She has Dru’s eyes! She is Lornie! Just a short step away from Lorna! She is Lorna Reyzon!” Xavier protested, but his voice was weak and desperate. Had he been trying so hard to find me? Was he really going crazy, because of me?

“Xavier, the nightstalker is not my sister. Open your eyes and look at her. She is not Dru.” I heard a new voice, and stiffened a little. Anneson. What is he doing here in the Dark Wind?

I watched as Anneson came from the bathroom, walking over to Faith, and standing by her side. They shared a smile.

I stared.

Their smile was not normal.

Their shared smile was more than normal. There was infatuation between that smile.

Gods above, there was love.

“Did I just see that? You were sharing that smile with Faith?” I lost all thoughts of keeping my appearances as I came short from shouting at Anneson.

His eyes moved from Xavier to me, uncomprehendingly.

“What does that have to do with you?” His voice was challenging, and I saw my mother’s son in him. He had a rebellious nature, beneath that entire good boy act. We all had it.

“It has everything to do with me! Of all things! I told you to go away! Get out of Seattle and get a life! You end up here in the Dark Wind? What are you trying to do here? Turn yourself into a nightstalker and drive me back to my grave? Have my mistakes not been evidence of the consequences you will receive?” I couldn’t help but shout and scream at Anneson now in my frustration.

No, it had nothing to do with the fact that Anneson loved Faith. It had everything to do with the fact that Anneson didn’t heed my advice and get the hell out of Seattle. It was nightmare capital for us. Why didn’t he move his butt as far away from Seattle as he could get?

Total silence filled the nightclub as eyes came my way. Anneson and Faith dropped their mouths at my sudden outburst, while Xavier’s eyes seemed to suddenly focus.

“What?” Anneson’s annoying habit returned as he lost mind to find words for his confusion.

“I told you to get your ass out of Seattle! Could you not listen to your sister’s dying request? Take the Reyzon dagger and go! Is it so hard to obey?”

“Dru?” The question was unsure.

“Damn right! Which part of it did you not understand?” I found no other way to vent my frustration, as I finally released my power, changing my appearance back.

Though there were no mirrors tracking me as my appearance changed, the gasp of surprise and shock from both Faith and Anneson was all that was needed to say about my transformation.

“You……. Your hair is red…” Anneson’s first gasped sentence was sorely out of topic, and it struck me funny how he could only point out my hair color.

“Well, I’m a Reyzon too aren’t I? Father and Mother both had red hair; why shouldn’t mine be?” I demanded, my voice returning to my own.

“It really is you? You’re not dead?” Faith asked; her voice shell-shocked.

“You want me to be?” I couldn’t help but retort.

“No, no! But… it’s just…” She trailed away, unable to find words.

“You didn’t expect me back here ever again, did you? I was gone for so long; you thought I was dead.” I pointed out blandly.

Faith couldn’t help but nod, her face flushing red with shame.

“Thanks to Kote, I was saved. Didn’t you hear? I’m an Ancient now. I took Wind’s seat just this morning.”

“Morning?”

“It was morning here when I spoke to the Ancients in the meeting room.”

There were no more words after that.

My words and thoughts were cut off when Xavier took my shoulders, and forced me to look at him.

“You are Dru. Not an imagination.” The heartbroken tone in his voice brought tears to my eyes. Had I really shattered his heart so utterly?

“Yes, I’m back. How are you?” I replied as gently as I could, but I was interrupted.

Interrupted by a kiss that spread warmth to the marrow of my bones.

Back with my Master of Magic Manipulation, I was perfect.

I am Dru Lorna Reyzon. Ancient and Creation of Kote. I am the Mistress of Magic Manipulation, blood-debtor to Jin. I was the Creation of Wind, no more. I am the brother to Anneson Reyzon, daughter of Mina and Stephan Reyzon. Most of all, I was Xavier’s second half.

Hear the name; know the name.

I am Dru Lorna Reyzon.

-The End-