Forever Elf 2

By A. Blackwelder

FOREVER ELF 2 begins where FOREVER ELF 1 ends, with Evelyn having returned to Emeralusia and Michael alone in the forests of Colorado mourning her absence. When Michael Cole graduates, he is compelled to re-enter Evelyn’s mystical world to save her from the dangers in her world, despite the warnings from the elder council. He embarks on a journey he never could have imagined and must be stronger than ever as he enters an Emeralusia torn by war and death. As the two lovers reunite and love is rekindled, ancient secrets and ancient words are revealed, challenging their loyalties to humans and elves. The dark elf Eris rallies his forces and Emeralusia is falling to ruin. Will Michael and Evelyn and the other elves survive?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ami Blackwelder
• Release date: Jan 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310864643

A. Blackwelder

A indie writer of paranormal and syfy

Book preview

Wounded

A hole in the forest is all I have left to remind myself of Evelyn – a hole much like the one in my heart, both are invisible to the naked human eye. Returning to the forest in the daylight, I plod over the moist soil we ran across so many times. I brush against the foliage and trees, hoping for a scent of her, strong enough to still keep me entranced. But there’s nothing. The only face I ever see is from the coldness of the new guardian of the gate, Rein. Her uncompromising emotions. Rigid eyes.

This absence would not be as brutal if I had contact with Venda or if Nile and Eve had joined me in my world. But I’ve heard from no one. No one remembers me here, so far away from their realm. The war keeps them all occupied, too busy to think of the pathetic needs of my heart. They’re busy surviving.

I’m ripped back to my world when Mom calls me from downstairs. Hesitantly, I walk down the stairs to the living room where Mom sits in her favorite green rocking chair.

A letter has been left for you at the front door, Mom informs me. It doesn’t say who it’s from. Perhaps Venda brought the note in the middle of the night. I open the letter as I sit on the sofa adjacent to Mom while she rocks back and forth.

Dearest Michael,

I have with eagerness and determination talked to my parents, Nile and Eve, into leaving this place and joining you in your world where they will be safe.

But they refuse. They tell me they cannot abandon their world. They say this war is as much their own as it is mine. They will not depart from here and I worry for their safety.

They want me to thank you for your kindness in inviting them to stay and to also thank you for all the kindness you have shown them since we have known you, but they have decided to fight in Emeralusia until the war is over and elves rule it in peace once again.

Loving You Always,

Evelyn

This disappointment hurts like a slap in the face. I miss all the little things. Somehow everything about Evelyn whirls me away from the stress and disappointment of my mundane life in Green Mountain Falls to a world where possibility exists, where I can be anyone and do anything, where every fear and hurt heal instantly.

I try to not think about her. I’ve had a lot of practice. When anguish doesn’t consume me, I smile, knowing I’ll join her soon. I live most of my days this way. It’s how I survive. She’s fighting an external battle, but mine wages deep within. Distractions hide the memories seeping out of my veins, leaving a delectable flavor, tempting me to return to them. If I concentrate on my friends, my magazines, it’s easier to forget her… or at least displace her.

I spend much of my time this week looking over brochures for colleges, Yale included. Dad notices me, says nothing, but smiles and nods as he passes me in the kitchen. Sitting at the table, I flip through pamphlets and prepare what to say in interviews. It’s not that I want to attend the first semester this fall, but I want to be prepared for any future. The wolves are gone and I have a new hope I didn’t have before. One where I could survive.

I’ve decided if I don’t hear from Evelyn by winter, I’ll attend my first semester of college, whether it’s Yale or not. I can recuperate in fall from all of the emotional turmoil and prepare what I need in finances. My parents are going to pay for the dorm, tuition and books, but I have to pay for my food, gas and utilities.

Still, sometimes at night, when I don’t have my friends to distract me or books to entertain me, I think of her and pray for mercy. Mercy in this war. For my broken heart. In the tiniest bit of moonlight trailing into my room over my sheets, I imagine the light of the gate. The light of her world. But then the darkness creeps in and suffocates the light and the gate disappears. Closing my eyes, she inhabits my dreams.

I awaken to a cold morning. The fall is finally here. The leaves of orange, yellow, and brown twist from the trees to the sides of the road and into the forest. A cool breeze blows across contented people passing in the streets, content because they can walk in safety now that the animal killings of summer have vanished. That is what it was called on television, ‘animal killings’. Newscasters and rangers tell us they’ve had no sign of the creatures responsible for all the wildlife death for some time. In the meantime, they tell us to enjoy our autumn but to be cautious.

Sarah races up the street outside my window. Robby grabs a pile of leaves and tosses them over Sarah’s head. The leaves scatter around her in the wind, like a delicate dance, cascading around her tall figure, and Sarah falls to the sidewalk, laughing. Robby falls next to her like a leaf, laughing like a child. I watch them in my somber mood with my face pressed against the glass of my window. My nose breathes fog onto the glass. I’m locked up against their laughter, closed against the change this fall brings. But the smiles on their faces take my fingers to the lock and Pushing the window open, I allow their presence to encompass me. Cool breezes rush in as if it has run out of patience, and carries the season’s change with it. Then I hesitantly, but surely, chuckle and peek at them below as they glance up at me.

Come out and join us, Robby calls out to me.

Grabbing my winter sweater in mournful motion, I throw the garb over my grey tee shirt and blue jeans. Jeans are light blue like my eyes. As I open the front door, the cool air rushes across my body and a smile breaks on my stern face. Grabbing a pile of leaves, I dart toward the two of them. Sarah leaps up with her fingers stretched above her, reaching to the falling leaves. I hop under the canopy of foliage and my fingers touch them, too, and forget for a moment I am wounded.

Robby grabs Sarah to spin her around in the air. She screams and yanks away to run down the street. Robby chases her like a schoolboy with a crush as we race down the street with our first breath of freedom in our Colorado fall. Sounds of children and adults, playing in their front lawns and pretending they never grew up, saturates the streets.

Sarah wants to go into law and will begin this winter. Taylor is still figuring out where he wants to go to college, but knows he wants to major in business management. He puts it off for as long as he can, until his parents force him. Lee is going to MIT. They accepted him immediately. Robby, like me, is unsure. We aren’t certain where life will take us, though for Robby, his reasons are far different from my own.

I know I want to do something in literature and writing. Robby enjoys math and science, but his parents push him into business and it’s stifling his motivation for college. Of course, there is also the added issue that Robby is a genius. Everyone can see it when they first meet him, however much social camouflage he layers over himself.

He is unaffected by social norms, is socially awkward, and usually speaks over the rest of our heads. His interviews, needless to say, are not always the best. The academic side is perfect. But top universities want more than grades, they want leading personalities. So instead of pursuing the daunting interviews for the universities and risk rejection, he’s here with me.

Robby and Sarah are the only two friends still here for me. Lee is busy checking out MIT and Taylor wants to travel and have as much fun as he can before college. Everyone is moving on with their life and I’m still here waiting, waiting for my spring to come back to me. I wonder if I wait in vain.

Doubt

I shouldn’t question her love for me. Shouldn’t question her loyalty. But I do. Did she leave because she wanted to defend her world, or was there a bigger reason, because she wanted to leave me? Perhaps we are just too different. Maybe she wanted me to forget her. But if that’s her plan, she’s failing, because her absence only makes me long for her more.

Pain is a fickle friend. Some days it leaves me alone and some days it eats me up whole. Today is one of those pain days. I can’t stop thinking about her and memories consume me, remembering our talks, kisses, and long walks in Lake Forest. She may never return. I have to deal with that fact, but my heart breaks. I tell myself she left because she had to, because she needed to. But I’m growing tired of my excuses. I hold the letter, the poem, she left me before her departure and think of those words, her last words to me:

In the evening, when we‘re sitting By the fire perchance alone, Then shall heart with warm heart meeting, Give responsive tone for tone.

Her words tell me her love is true, that she cries, too, and that her pain is also too much for her. Crushing the doubt filling me, I meditate on those words written so long ago. I sit at the dinner table with Mom and Dad, eating a potato and steak dinner. We eat in silence with Dad eyeing me.

My parents believe Evelyn is at college, preparing for a degree in nursing. They wonder why I haven’t taken to college as quickly, especially since it’s all I dreamed of since I was a kid. If they only knew the truth about her. She’s not away at college. She’s fighting for the survival of her world and the life of her people. Her and her kind saved us from the shadow wolves last summer. Evelyn is who we all have to thank for feeling safe on our streets again. But no one knows it, except me.

I’ll give Evelyn till winter. If she doesn’t return then, I’ll have to forget her, and sacrifice my ‘normal life’ to be with her, just as she sacrificed her safety to save me. But I can’t wait forever. I wish this time without her could move like the speed of sound, too fast for me to feel. But I feel the anguish too often.

Bouncing my soccer ball on the front lawn with my knees, I toss the ball back and forth between my feet. Knocking the black and white soccer ball with my head, it flies into the neighbor’s yard.

Is that you, Michael? Mrs. Brine says behind the open window. Gray hair is bundled up into a bun on top of her head that looks like a bird’s nest. Wait right there. She stumbles out of her front door and her elderly bones move in hesitant motions. She uses a cane in her left hand. How are you doing, Michael? I haven’t seen you in some time.

I’m fine, Ms. Brine. Thank you, I lie. A constructed smile spreads across my face. I’ve been pretty busy with all the college applications and interviews. No time to do much else.

Have you been accepted? You were always such a smart boy, she says. You won’t have any trouble at all getting into college.

That’s true. I am smart and my grades and extracurricular activities give me a head start into any college I want. But if I go now, I’m turning my back on Evelyn, on the life that still could return to me.

College hunting is going well, I report. I have a few colleges picked out, but I’m taking it slow, making sure I make the right decision. That part is true.

So, how come I never see Evelyn at your home anymore? Ms. Brine inquires. She sure seems like a nice girl.

That’s when time slowed down or may have actually stopped, at least inside my head. Evelyn? Her name makes me pause and then I remember I have to answer the question.

Evelyn… I hesitate. She’s gone away…to college and she’s doing well there.

Well, I hope you two make time for each other. You seem like a nice couple. Much better than your other girlfriend. Mrs. Brine whispers the last sentence to me. The simplicity of the truth in those words brings a grin.

Yes, I agree, Evelyn is a better fit, I say before saying goodbye, and kick my soccer ball to my lawn. Wind blows the ball and I follow it down my street to the edge of the sidewalk where a small forest sits on the other side. It’s not Lake Forest, but similar. With the soccer ball in my hands, I enter and remember this forest...

This is where last summer a shadow wolf ripped sharp teeth into my skin. The weight of its heavy body made me black out. I’ll never forget it, a moment where time disappeared, light disappeared, and I was suspended outside of myself, looking down at this fragile young man holding on to his life.

I’ve learned something since that night. I might have to give up more than my ‘normal life’ and more than my future dreams to save Evelyn and her world. I might have to sacrifice my own life to save hers. As I laid in the hospital bed last summer, pulling out of unconsciousness, I was still unable to get up, unable to talk. My eyes opened. Mind awoke. But no one was there to pull me out of it. I had to pull myself out and be strong. A struggle, because Evelyn was in my dreams and I wanted to stay with her. But a part of me, a small part of me, knew that was only a dream.

A bigger part of me knew that if I awoke, I had a chance to be with Evelyn in life, not just in my dreams. Pulling and pushing, I fought through my unconsciousness. With the war in her world, I’ll have to be strong and be willing to sacrifice everything to save her…if I ever get there...

A cold breeze brushes over me and brings me back to the present. I walk away from the forest, from the moment that brought me face-to-face with my own death. Then, I return to my home a few blocks away and put the soccer ball in the hall closet.

What do you want for dinner? Mom shouts to me.

Anything is fine, I shout back. Running up to my room, I sit on my bed with my legs crisscrossed, listening to music. Glancing to my window, I feel the cold wind beating against the glass and stare at my bed, then remember Evelyn once in my arms.

At my desk, I notice the books of poetry I read to Evelyn at lunch during our senior year. Glancing to the foot of my bed, I remember Venda, who brought me letters and books from her world. Gazing outside my window, I notice the tree Wind climbed many times and the lawn where the three shadow hunters stood while waiting for me to join them in their hunt.

My whole life is encompassed in this room, these four walls. Every place in this room holds a memory of the time I spent with Evelyn. She did love me, she did love me. I repeat this to myself like a mantra.

Michael, dinner’s ready, Mom calls. I rush downstairs to my seat at the dinner table. Mom prepared macaroni and cheese. I scoop myself a portion and eat in silence until Mom interrupts it.

So, how are things going, Michael?

Fine, I say, flatly, looking over at my parents staring at me. Fine.

Have you decided anything about college yet? Dad says. We hate to see you wasting your life here.

I want to go to Yale, I report. I mailed in the applications months ago, but I’m not going to go until spring next year, earliest. I’m giving myself some time away from school. Dad nods, satisfied with my answer.

That’s great, Mom responds. I didn’t know you’d already sent in your applications. How long do you think until we hear back from them?

I sent my applications in senior year and I should hear back from them soon.

I’ll keep my eyes on the mail, then. That would be so great if you get in, Michael, Mom says. Shoving a spoonful of macaroni into my mouth, I smile.

Dreams

My life fills with dreams the second week of this month. Not the kind of dreams I had unconscious in the hospital bed. Not the kind of dreams that flee when I know they aren’t real, but the kind of dreams that stick in the mind, to the insides like hot glue, and are too real to ignore. I toss and turn, holding my head in fear that they might come true.

...Running up the green meadows, the black dragon swoops down out of the blue black sky, sliding past me. I have to run faster and float to get away from the monster. My body flies into the air toward the green forest. The green forest is safe, because the land belongs to elves. I remember Evelyn told me that before she left. Pushing myself forward, Traveling through the thick night air, the black dragon swings around and back toward me. We are two floating beings, fighting for space, fighting for the future.

This gift of flying in her world gives me power to outrun the dragon, but the dragon opens its mouth and its hot red-yellow fire thrusts out like a sword toward my face. Diving to the ground, I roll over in the green forest. Safe. My haven.

The ground is moist from last night’s rain and Evelyn sits on the big rock, waiting for me. Skin is like porcelain, smooth and soft. Emerald eyes sparkle with joy at the sight of me. Hair dangles below her shoulders, waving in the cool breeze. I have missed her too much. We run toward each other and hug so tightly it feels like we have become one...

Michael, Michael! Mom’s voice rips me away from my dream. Pulling myself out of bed, I shower and ready myself for the day, then meet Sarah and Robby on the driveway. Robby brings his soccer ball and Sarah insists on playing with us. She ties her long, brown, perfectly-trimmed hair back into a ponytail and cracks her knuckles. Robby giggles at the sight.

You look so intense, Sarah. You’re starting to scare me, Robby says. Sarah contorts her face into a half smile, half grimace.

Are you ready to play? Sarah asks.

Oh, I’m ready. Are you? says Robby.

Let’s get going, she says confidently. I look at the two of them in their competitive moods and wonder what happened between them.

I’ve been practicing, Michael, Sarah reports. I’m going to join the soccer team at my college.

Lee pulls up in his car, hollering, Hey, wait for me!

We’ve got a ball already, Lee, Robby says. Lee puts his ball on my front lawn. We have four players. Two teams. Michael’s house is one goal and the house down the street is the other.

I’ll team up with Michael. Sarah walks over to me to seal the deal.

Lee and Robby hawk-eye each other and race a few yards down the street. The game is on and I realize how much I’ve missed playing with them. Lee kicks the ball and Robby chases it toward my end, our invisible goal. Sarah and I have to keep it from going past my house, the invisible line. Robby races to the ball and Lee runs alongside him.

Sarah watches the ball. She doesn’t want to let it past her. She dives for it, but years of practice tell Robby to push the ball to her left toward an open space and he hits it past her. I come in behind and kick the ball in the opposite direction.

Sarah cheers, racing after the rolling ball. Lee runs toward it from his end, but I get to the ball first, kicking toward the house marking my goal. Like old times, Lee and me battling on the field, but I’m too fast for him after all my time spent with Wind and Evelyn, and I outrun him. I hit the ball past the designated goal.

One point for us! Sarah cheers. I knew I picked the right team! she shouts, winking at me. The game continues like this for a couple of hours with Lee and me head-to-head for the ball and Robby attempting to push it past Sarah. Robby’s years of practice will not let her get past him. By the end of the game, I’ve scored five points for my team, Lee and Robby have scored three, and everyone plods back to my house.

I think I’ll head home. Mom’s fixing a great dinner, Robby says and drives away.

Yeah, I think I’ll be getting home, too. Lee waves goodbye. I’ll see you guys later. Good game! He disappears.

Sarah gazes at me. I’m not going anywhere, she says. Actually if you have time, I thought maybe you’d like to go to the café.

Sure.

Do you think I could use your shower before heading there? Sarah asks. I’m pretty sweaty.

Yeah.

Mom smiles as she watches us. I know what she’s thinking. She’s glad Sarah’s with me and not Evelyn. Not Evelyn, because she didn’t grow up in Colorado (or so Mom thought). Not Evelyn, because she made me cry. Not Evelyn, because she didn’t enjoy chatting with my mother. Sarah brought an extra change of clothes in her backpack and put on a pair of faded jeans and a green sweater. After showering, I throw on my favorite jeans, a tee shirt and brown leather jacket.

So, what are your plans for tonight? Mom asks.

Sarah and I are heading to the café. We’ll be back later.

Alright, don’t stay out too late, Mom yells as we head out the front door.

Sarah loves my new convertible and rubs her hands along the leather seats. We arrive at the café with the top down. Sarah still has her hair tied into a ponytail. My short, dark hair blows wildly. When we get out of the car, Sarah giggles as she rakes her hands through my hair to straighten it.

Gloria! How are you? I say to the waitress. I want to make sure the summer’s encounters with the wolf haven’t gotten to her. She’s busy cleaning the tables.

I’m good, thanks, Gloria replies. Ever since the night I called you, the boss has been worried about me and his cash register. He put in an extra security system. Makes me feel much safer.

I’m glad, I say. You can bring us the usual. Sarah and I sit at the same table Evelyn and I sat at on our first date. The thought doesn’t occur to me until I look out the window and remember Evelyn staring at Lake Forest. Gloria brings two coffee cakes and two traditional caramel coffees. Music is a soft guitar. The room is warmer than outside. Heat must be turned on. Sarah eats her coffee cake slowly, slicing her fork into it and picking up each small piece one at a time. Sipping my coffee, a nice warm feeling goes down my throat in this cold early evening air.

So, how are you doing, Michael? Sarah asks.

I’m fine.

I mean without…Evelyn? Sarah’s tone pinches when she says her name. She’s been away for two months now.

I’m…I’m fine, really. She’ll come back. She’s really busy, but she’s coming back. I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince Sarah or myself.

Sarah stands up to walk the shelf of books. She randomly pulls out the one marked Folklore of Green Mountain Falls, Colorado and sits back down with me at the table, opening the book. Pulling it toward me, I turn to the page I read with Evelyn and see the delicate fragile elfin with elongated ears, sitting on a rock with her hair wrapped around her heart-shaped face. Almond shaped eyes stare into the distance as if the distance, the forest, can save her.

Evelyn, I whisper aloud as Sarah glances at