Family Secrets, Chapter 7

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Family Secrets
Chapter 7

by:
Drakira

Mikaela Vance has returned home after an eventful first semester at Ravencrest. But, will she get a well-deserved rest there? Or is there something laying in wait?

RavenWolf.jpg


Disclaimer:
~Big thanks to Enemyoffun for making this universe to play in, and to all my beta readers for helping me hammer out some of the details in this chapter.
Author's Note: Here's chapter 7. I hope you all enjoy this next part of Mikaela's tale. Chapter 8 is currently in brainstorm mode, but I do have an idea of where I'm going with it.
Please feel free to comment on this, as I always enjoy reading your comments and learning from them immensely.

Chapter 7

“Raven?” I asked, very much curious as to what the entity in front of me meant by that.

Now, that there was a break in the action, I took a closer look at the figure in front of me. For the most part, she did look human. However, there was just enough of a difference in her features to make me believe that she was definitely not human. The human part of her looked like a very stunning woman, wearing an intricately-patterned black dress. I could see what appeared to be symbols of some kind around the edges of the dress, along the cuffs and necks, inside of a navy-blue stripe in those areas.

Her long flowing black hair reached all the way down her back. It had a natural wave to it, from what I could tell. Thick strands of hair reached down to her breasts, framing her face elegantly. Sprouting out of her back were a pair of raven-feathered wings, resembling those of an angel’s in shape and design. In her right hand, she wielded a very impressive looking staff. Symbols adorned it as well, and also there were a few ornaments hung closely from the near the top of the staff, atop the staff rested a golden round figure with things coming off of it. I couldn’t get a good look at that though, since she had that part aimed at the elementals.

“Yes,” she acknowledged. “Excuse me for a moment, while I deal with these four.”

She turned directly at the four elementals. In the meantime, I went over and stood next to Marilyn, who still chanted the words she needed for the ritual. Marilyn must have been so deep in the ritual, that she seemed to be oblivious to everything going on around her.

I turned my attention towards Raven, and watched what she was going to with those four elementals that nearly killed me, or at least got close to that point. She wielded her staff at pointed in a threatening manner before addressing them.

“You four have a lot of explaining to do,” she started, speaking sternly but concealing any emotion. “I suggest you start talking. Now.”

The four of them looked at each other, and then looked at me, “This bird-dog,” the fire elemental started, pointing at me, “sullied the ritual for this young shamaness with her very presence. This cannot be allowed!”

“And who made the four of you the judge of that?” Raven countered. “Hmm?!”

The water elemental replied, “We’ve been guardians of the Spirit Realm for millennia, and it is our duty to protect the rituals that we all hold most dear.”

The air elemental continued, “To have a Were here, and meddling in a shaman’s rite of passage, goes against everything the previous shamans have gone through before.”

“Every other shaman went through this ritual on their own,” the earth elemental continued, “there are no exceptions.”

“Wrong,” Raven calmly, replied, pulling back her staff. “There have been exceptions to the general rule. You all forget, the Mystics in the real world are the gatekeepers to the Spirit Realm for the shamans who undergo their spirit quest, among other things.

“If the Mystic who helped this young shamaness through, saw fit to allow one of her closest friends to accompany her, then you should not have gotten involved like you did.”

“We have our duty!” the fire elemental roared.

“You all have a greater responsibility than that!” Raven roared back.

The four of them seemed to back off a bit from us after that statement. Raven continued, “I am ashamed to see the four of you nitpick over minutiae such as this, when there are more important things going on in this world. Especially you, Earth.”

The earth elemental growled in response. I had no idea to what Raven was referring to, but it apparently struck a little close to home.

“Now,” Raven said calmly, “how do you want to make up for your own transgressions?”

The four of them looked at each other in silence.

“Well? I'm waiting,” Raven demanded.

I glanced over at Marilyn, still chanting, when an idea came to me.

“You could be her spirit guides,” I suggested.

“WHAT?!” Fire roared. “You have no say in this, bird-dog!”

“Oh, I think I do,” I countered. “I think I earned the right to have a say in this for all the damage you and your friends here did to me, while I was protecting one of my best friends from an unprovoked attack that you started.”

Raven looked at me, and gave me a small smile. She turned back to the elementals and replied, “She makes a good point, doesn’t she?”

The elementals grumbled some more, and then the water elemental replied, “And what do we get in return?”

“Well,” I started, “think of it this way. You can either be her spirit guides willingly, or she’ll bind you to her in a matter of time. Choice is yours.”

“Another very good point,” Raven agreed. Looking at each of the elementals, and added, “Clock’s ticking.”

“Fine,” the air elemental replied, defeated. “We’ll ALL do it willingly.”

“Good,” Raven replied, “And if I hear even the faintest whisper of one of you shirking your duties to the young shaman, except in the case of emergencies of course, you will have me to deal with. Am I understood?”

The four of them nodded.

Raven tapped her staff, and brought Marilyn out of her chanting.

Marilyn blinked her eyes multiple times to help wake them back up. Looking around the room, she saw all of us surrounding her, staring intently.

I kneeled down besider her, and she turned to me, asking, “Mikaela, what’s going on here? Did I miss something?”

“Say hello to your new spirit guides,” I answered, indicating the elementals with one of my hands.

“The binding? It worked?” she asked.

“Almost, dear,” Raven answered. “These four have decided to be your spirit guides willingly. Now, you may consider your vision quest complete. I suggest that the five of you start getting to know each other.”

“Who are you?”

“Raven,” she replied, nodding her head curtly.

“Raven?” Marilyn asked.

“I’ll explain later,” I added. I turned back towards Raven and asked, “Can we go home now?”

“In just a bit. You and I have something to talk about.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Walk with me, Mikaela.”

Hesitantly leaving Marilyn's side, Raven led me out of the cabin and back into the mists. The purple-flamed bonfire still roared brilliantly.

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked her, point-blank, crossing my arms.

“There are many challenges on the horizon, young one. You will need to embrace yourself fully, to help overcome them, as well as keep your friends and allies close.”

“Okay,” I replied. “That’s stuff that I kind of already figured out.”

“Really?” Raven replied. “Your charm bracelet says otherwise.”

I looked at my charm bracelet and saw all the charms that hung from it. The wolf and raven, my Were forms. The Starfleet delta and Zatanna's top hat and wand, two of my favorite interests and hobbies.

“What do you mean?” I asked, perplexed, examining the bracelet.

“There a few charms missing from that bracelet that you will need to add, and more than you think. But, I have confidence that you will figure out a way to get them on there.”

“Why and which ones? And what does any of this matter to you?”

“Let’s just say that I have a vested interest in the events that can play out in the mortal realm, and some of the people who live there. After all, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time I aided mortals in their various quests, and it probably won’t be the last.”

I gave her a puzzled look and thought, ‘What was it that she was trying to tell me?’

I asked her, voicing my thoughts, “I’m a bit confused. What are you trying to tell me?”

“I think you already know, my dear. Or at the very least, have all the pieces to figure it out. But now, it’s time for you and Marilyn to return to the mortal realm. There is still much for you to do in Rancho Calaveras and Ravencrest, to say nothing about the roads further ahead.”

The door to the cabin opened and Marilyn stepped out and walked over to me. I could see something was different about her, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Had the elementals and her come to some sort of arrangement?

Marilyn walked over and stood beside me. I asked her, “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” she answered. “I’m okay. I just had a chat with the elementals.”

“They’re not going to do anything crazy, are they?”

“No, they did agree to be my spirit guides. We just wanted to get a few things cleared up, that’s all.”

“What things?”

“Sorry, Mikaela," she answered, looking apologetic. "But, I can’t talk about them. It’s a spirit guide-shaman kind of thing, you know what I'm saying?”

“I think I know what you mean.”

“Good,” Raven interjected. “Now, that that’s cleared up.”

Raven slammed her staff down upon the ground, emitting a bright flash of light. The staff’s head landed directly in front of me, and I was able to get a better look at it briefly. Something on it resembled snakes, but I couldn’t quite place it. Although I was sure that I saw it before somewhere.

When the flash of light cleared, I saw a normal colored flame burning in front of me, and I found myself sitting on the log near the bonfire. Right where this crazy cross-realm journey began.

“Welcome back, you two. I trust your journey into the Spirit Realm was successful?”

“Yes,” Marilyn answered. “Thank you, Mystic.”

“You are welcome, young shamaness.”

The Mystic turned to me and asked, “Did you find the answers you sought?”

“I don't think so,” I answered, looking a bit confused. "Definitely more questions though."

He smiled knowingly, “Then maybe someone set you down the path to a greater wisdom, young Were.”

“Weren’t you going to answer some of my questions?”

“I did say that I would give you some information, yes. However, due to the late hour, I will answer one question for now.”

I sighed, and thought, ‘Guess I should take what I can get.’

“With whom am I in danger from, or is someone just faking it for their own personal reasons?”

“Clever, young Were, with the double question.”

I smirked, glad to have found a small loophole when phrasing my question.

“To answer your question, yes, you are indeed in danger here. And from someone close to home, from what I’ve heard. However, I do believe that you will overcome this latest challenge set in your path."

I opened my mouth to quickly follow-up, but he quickly added, "And before you ask, I do not know with whom you are in danger from.”

Great, more danger. And all I wanted was a nice winter break at home, away from this sort of trouble.

“I will lead you two back to your friend’s vehicle,” the Mystic stated. “The path can be quite treacherous in the middle of the night. Good luck in your endeavors, both of you.”

---------------------------------------------------

December 19, 2011

My experience in the spirit realm left me a little bit disturbed. It definitely was the sort of experience that you needed to take the time to digest and figure out what everything meant. The Mystic didn’t tell me much, only confirming that the danger to me was real, and close by.

I decided to do some research on the shamans, the spirit realms, and spirit guides in general. I even decided to do some specific research into the entity that identified herself as Raven. My experiences in that realm left me feeling uneasy, and thirsty for more knowledge. Perhaps, to try to help put it all into some kind of perspective.

Searching for knowledge always seemed to bring me some kind of peace. I remembered looking up various pieces of minutiae on the Internet through high school. My friends joked that it would probably end up being useful if I ever went on Jeopardy! My other classmates used to poke and make fun at me for surfing the web for just knowledge, instead of using the free time to play games, working out in the gym, or asking girls out.

I did play computer games at home, but that’s where I felt like where they belonged and school was for learning as much as possible. Plus, being picked on and teased at school, to my mind anyway, probably made me timid when it came to asking girls out. It was a wonder that Alexandra even wanted to go out with me, given my lack of experience in that area.

As I continued my research, the same pattern kept developing. Either I would get links and references to various online video or role-playing games, or I would get references to ancient traditions with the disclaimer that the practices were performed in the ancient past.

I leaned back in my chair and grunted in frustration. I reached for my cup of coffee to take a drink, and help me press on in trying to find more information. However, to my surprise, I had already emptied the cup.

“Damn it,” I cursed.

I left my chair by my computer, and headed for the kitchen to refill my cup. I have already had at least two cups of coffee, par for the course when I usually went on an information prowl. As I filled my cup with the still warm pot of black coffee, my thoughts kept falling back to my time in the spirit realm, and my desire to learn more. However, the other nagging thought on my mind kept diverting my attention. That there was some kind of danger lurking around my home town, a danger that was coming for me.

After I had filled my cup up with the rest of the coffee, I took it and went over to the window and stared out at the countryside. The golden blades of grass on the nearby hill swayed in the gentle breeze. I could see the leafless branches of the oak trees also move in the wind. As I brought the black coffee mug to my lips, my thoughts drifted back to that danger on the horizon.

What was this danger that I had coming for me? Was it related to what had happened to me back in Ravencrest? Or was it something completely unrelated to that incident? How many of the Unseen had these dangers on a regular basis? Was there even anyone else here that I could call an ally, a friend, or were they all hiding their true intentions behind some kind of mask with some nefarious purpose? So many questions, so few answers, and so few certainties.

I continued to sip my coffee and think about what my mother told me about the Weres that lived in the area. I already knew about the Coyotes through renewing my old friendship ties. However, I was lacking information about the Cougars, the Bears, and the Hawks. The Hawks were the most mysterious of all, considering the fire that claimed their home nearly twenty years ago.

I had thought about looking over all the old news stories concerning the fire. I also wondered if I could get my hands on the arson report to see if they had any information about the blaze. I did know that the old ruins were still standing near the lake. No one had decided to purchase the land the ruins stood on from the rest of the Gibbs family. Also, the family themselves decided not to demolish and rebuild over the ruins.

Something about that old fire, which took place close to the time I was born, intrigued me. I wonder if there was anything left there to discover. Perhaps investigating the old ruins would provide a welcome diversion, and help me clear my head to help figure my own problems out. At the very least, the bicycle ride over there would help clear my head and help with my thinking. Cycling always seemed to help in generate ideas or solve problems for me. Besides, it would also help in working some of the caffeine out of my system from all the coffee I drank.

“Mom,” I called through the house, after setting down my coffee on the kitchen counter.

“What, Mikaela?” my mother called back.

“I’m going out for a bike ride near the lake.”

“Be home by dark!” she called back.

“I will, and I’ve got my phone if you need to get a hold of me.”

“Have fun!”

Grabbing a light jacket out of the closet, I headed into the garage and pulled out one of the mountain bikes that we had in storage. My mother also enjoyed cycling and we sometimes went on rides together when I was younger.

---------------------------------------------

As I rode through the hills, under the mostly cloudy skies on that cool December morning, I realized how much that I missed doing this on a regular basis. Although I did not relish the cold weather, the brisk air definitely felt refreshing. The grey clouds overhead cast a low light across the landscape. I knew a storm was on the way, and I knew that I had plenty of time to investigate the ruins before it got here. Also, feeling the air blow through my longer hair definitely was a new experience, and made me think I probably have put it up into a ponytail or something like that to keep it from blowing into my face during the ride. At least I had situated my shoulder bag into a comfortable position that did not interfere with my cycling through the hills.

The ride to the lake didn’t take too long, probably about half an hour, considering the distance. As I coasted down the hills and rounding the bend, I could see the ruins of the Gibbs estate come into view. They stood out from some of the scenery, but I could tell that nature was trying to reclaim some of the territory. In the distance beyond, I could make out the trailer park that was on the edge of town, as well as the woods that ran along the lakeside. It definitely was an interesting view, showing the edge of civilization and the wilderness.

I pulled into the driveway a few minutes later, the grass starting to overtake portions of the gravel driveway. Parking my bike near the remains of the garage, I got off and began my trek into the ruins of the estate. I could see the metal, burned-out wreckage of a car that had been in the garage when the fire broke out.

The charred remains of the main part of the estate still looked black, given the amount of time that had passed. Some of the stonework still stood, however, most of the wooden framework lay around blackened, rotting, and even molding in places. Pieces of the upper floors still remained intact and accessible, although I believed that they were extremely fragile and might not be able to support my weight. If I had to go up there for some reason during my personal investigation, I would definitely have to watch my step.

I decided to walk the perimeter of the estate to get a feel for where I should try to look first. Something about this place definitely stood out, other than the fact that no one has decided to rebuild the estate and just left it there to decay.

As I walked around, I did notice one thing in particular. Grass had regrown, lush and green, right up to the edge of the estate’s boundary. But, it didn’t get any further than that. From what I could see looking through the shattered windows, no plant vegetation was visible growing inside. I knew from basic science classes that various seeds are transported on the breeze. But, why was there nothing growing inside of these ruins?

I made the full perimeter survey and decided to enter the ruined structure, through the remains of the front door. The garage was out of the question, the gasoline from the car exploding had left barely anything intact.

The front door barely hung from its hinges, the wood scorched nearly everywhere. As soon as I crossed over the threshold, a very creepy feeling overtook me. It felt like I’ve been touched by death or something along those lines. For all I know the ruins could be haunted or something.

As I looked around what appeared to the remains of the living room, I could see the charred remains of furniture. There were no decorations, or remains of them hanging from the walls. Which made some sense, since the fire reportedly occurred towards the end of summer.

Walking around I could get some kind of feeling of the people who once lived here. From what I could make out, they were similar in lifestyle to my family. This made sense from what I have seen from other Were families. It seems that a good chunk of the various Were clans that I have encountered held quite a bit in finances in their possession. However, it looked like a good portion of that was wiped out by this devastating fire.

As I continued to look through the wreckage, I couldn’t help but shiver. It seemed strange that I should be so cold all of a sudden. The winds haven’t picked up and the clouds haven’t grown any darker.

‘Strange,’ I thought to myself.

I continued walking through the rubble, debris, and the other miscellany that littered the ruins. I turned over objects every now and again, rummaging around to see what I could find. But, to be honest, I didn’t have much of a clue of what I was looking for. Just that I wanted to know what set the blaze or what became of the Gibbs’ family that lived here.

Looking at some of the remains in the office area, I could see fragments of what probably were proudly displayed artifacts of the Gibbs’ family. Similar to things that I had seen in other Were residences. I could see some bird imagery in some paintings, at least those that had undamaged areas.

Turning over some of the furniture pieces, I could see three life-like, albeit damaged, statues. All three statues depicted birds-of-prey.

I smirked. Definitely a theme here, just like I saw back in Ravencrest, in some of their estates.

However, instead of three hawks, like I assumed, there was only one. The other two were of an owl and a falcon. Definitely seemed to be out of the ordinary there. Did the Gibbs’ clan have multiple types of birds in their family, or was there something more symbolic here?

I jumped the instant I heard a screeching noise in the distance. The noise seemed to have come from someplace close by, and I quickly looked up and around. I didn’t see anything in the charred remains of the house, so I went over to window and took a look outside.

Perched on a branch on a nearby oak tree, I could make out the silhouette of an owl. There was just enough light to make out some of its features. It looked around at the house for a few seconds before it turned its gaze upon me. I didn’t recognize the type of owl that it was, but it was as if the owl’s gaze saw right through me. Almost as if it could read my mind or something.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and went back over to the statues. Looking at the owl, I could now see that the two owls were of the same species. That seemed a little fishy to me. I decided to take all three of the statues with me. I placed them carefully in my shoulder bag, not wanting to damage them further. I hoped that maybe they could yield another clue to the Gibbs’ fire under further investigation.

After learning all that I could on the first floor, I breathed deep and headed for the remains of the stairs to continue my exploration of the ruins. The house consisted of only two floors, and I presumed that the bedrooms were situated up there, considering that I found no evidence of anyone having lived down here.

Watching my step, I cautiously made my way upstairs, trying to be careful to not break the step and fall through. The stairs groaned, creaked, and felt like they could give in at any moment. Nervous seemed like a gross understatement, as the fear of falling and injuring myself pervaded my thoughts. Luckily, as I got off at the second-floor landing, the structural supports still seemed to be able to hold my weight.

I poked around the room as best that I could, it seemed that the fire damage was more severe up here. I knew that flames traveled upwards, yet why were things more destroyed up here? The only thing that seemed to fit this level of destruction was that the fire started from up somewhere up here.

I continued my look around the bedrooms. They showed various levels of devastation like the rest of the estate. Burnt clothes, toys, and mementos littered the rooms. It was sad to see one family reduced to scraps and piles of ash. It angered me that whomever was responsible for setting the blaze was still on the loose, since all the related news stories never reported the arsonist being caught.

After some time of searching the rooms, I finally came upon the last room on the floor, one of the smaller bedrooms. My guess that this room belonged to one of the Gibbs’ children. Upon entering the remains of the room, however, I could see the damage here to be very extensive. It seemed like the fire started here.

Nearly all of the walls were scorched black. The ceiling had a large gaping hole in the center of it with the floor having a similar one. I approached the hole cautiously, unsure of what I might find there, if anything.

The edge of the hole was singed black, black as the darkest night. Looking across the hole, I could see the headlights of a few cars on the road, through what holes in the glass I could see. The rest of the glass was twisted and warped. The furniture, or more accurately what was left of it, were nothing more than mere scraps. I could also see leftovers of clothing as well: a piece of a shirt here, some bits of jeans there. I couldn’t tell the former occupants’ gender from the clothing. Too few scraps, and what remained was unisex. But, I could tell that the occupant was a teenager.

I slowly creeped up to the hole as I felt that the floor would be weaker here. When I got to the edge I looked down into and up above it. From what I could tell, the hole didn’t penetrate the roof of the house or through to the floor below fully. It was as if something exploded in the middle of the room and expanded outwards to encompass part of the room. The fire to the house would have then been an aftereffect of that explosion. Then what caused the explosion in the first place?

I looked around a bit more, and didn’t feel like testing the edge further. Sighing, I decided to head back to my bicycle and return home. I found some pieces to this puzzle, but I still was mystified about what happened here.

I had almost reached the stairs when I heard a loud crack from beneath me. Suddenly, I found myself falling through the floor, and I felt a sharp pain when I fell through the ground floor as well, landing on some concrete floor underneath that one. Darkness took me as I landed with a hard thud on my back on to what felt like cold hard concrete.

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Comments

Cliff? What is this "cliff" you speak of?

Drakira's picture

;)

Don't worry, I won't try to leave everyone hanging for very long. The brainstorming has already commenced for the next chapter, mostly on the second half of it.

Drakira

Status Update

Drakira's picture

Well, chapter 8 is still stuck in brainstorming mode. Real life took a roller coaster turn for a while now, and I've only got about maybe half the chapter written.

Hopefully, my muse decides to come back and help me out. Life might've scared her off for a while.

Drakira

now does she have her phone

now does she have her phone on her, or did she leave it onthe bike, or was it damaged in the fall.
find out in the next exciting episode.

Phone

Drakira's picture

That's a really good question. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Drakira

Raven power

Too bad she was not in half raven form so she could've floated a bit?

It's interesting that she has also received a 'visitation' from her patroness, much like Tracey did.

Can't React that Fast

Drakira's picture

Well, she couldn't react THAT fast to the fall, since it was only a drop of two floors. Also, she was caught by surprise when it happened, even though she was being cautious about it.

Yep, Raven did decide to pay her a little visit. But, what is that wise trickster up to?

Drakira

Patroness

Enemyoffun's picture

It was actually Cindy who got the visit from a Goddess not Tracy.

Ah, thank you

It has been a while.

Questions and answers

Jamie Lee's picture

It's always frustrating when there are more questions than answers. Even more frustrating when someone, or something, is after you.

Was the owl a guard? No questions were answered at the old Gibbs home, just more questions. Was it wise for Mikaela to take the statues? How bad was he injured after the fall? And who will come to his aid?

Others have feelings too.

Unfinished

Come on you can’t leave it there so cruel.

hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna

Definitely a cliff hanger

Yk_bwl's picture

Just hope u won't be hanging me to death...
Due to curiosity of course!!!!

So good!

Such a great story! I can't wait to read more...