Letorian Descendants (Casey Blane Series #1)

By Jodi Ann Fahey

Forced into an action-packed world of vampires, werewolves, and all things mystical, Casey Blane must quickly learn of the great power she possesses as she unlocks the mysteries of her nearly four-hundred-year-old royal family’s past to save herself and her coven as the next Letorian Descendant.

Casey Blane Series:
Over four hundred years ago, King Davalian, The Letorian King, protected the covens from the Pandions and townspeople during the medieval times of the black plague and the witch hunts. Two very gifted sorcerers were part of his army and fought alongside him. One was a woman named Lily who not only helped him to victory but won his heart. Lily was not at all interested in King Davalian. Her love was Connell, the other gifted sorcerer.

During King Davalian’s reign, Lily discovered the secret to eternal life through a series of talismans, a reborn vampire, which she tried on herself. Connell was to be next, and they were to live out their lives, each generation, with each other. Except, that night, things went horribly wrong and even though both had been blessed with eternal life their bond was never completed. Instead, in a jealous rage, King Davalian cursed Connell and forced him to an entity of being controlled by the moon and to never forget.

Connell was forced into a wolf, and after King Davalian’s death, Lily became their queen. That was when a devastating prophecy of her great-granddaughter was told. Her great-granddaughter would be slaughtered by the King to the Pandions, the talismans were to be found, and it would be the demise of the Letorian Coven. The Pandions were destined to be the new ruling coven and destroy everything on its way to get there.

The series begins with Lily’s great-granddaughter, Casey Blane, who has been kept hidden her entire young human life for them to try to change the prophecy until one day when she’s discovered by the Pandions. What happens next will change her life forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jodi Ann Fahey
• Release date: Jun 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463403327

Jodi Ann Fahey

Jodi Ann Fahey studied journalism from the time she was in high school. When she attended Fashion Institute of Technology, she was able to branch out into the world of advertising, as well. It was in that field that Jodi learned Graphic Design as well as film production and photography, both as a model and a photographer. Jodi’s articles on local businesses and events were published in local papers.Jodi is also a freelance web designer and ad developer. Her work has been published in European Homes and Gardens as well as BiBi Magazine. Also, she has done freelance work on Poetry Bay Online Poetry Magazine and Long Island Quarterly.Utilizing all of her learned skills, Jodi has started her newest venture, The Casey Blane Series. Jodi not only writes her stories, but she also designs her own covers, creates her own trailers, and designs all her ads. She also created her own website, as well.Her first book, “Letorian Descendants”, was released December of 2016. In the fall of 2017, “Letorian Descendants was given the distinct honor and recognition by being named and awarded a finalist for the Book Excellence Award. In December of 2017, “Letorian Descendants” was also awarded “One of the Most Memorable Reads of 2017” by Stratford Living.Jodi’s second book, “Lucian Sword”, was released November of 2017 and was immediately made “Book of the Month” by Rave Review Book Club for the month of January.Her third book, “Dragon Lines”, is set to release December of 2018 and Jodi is also part of two anthologies scheduled to release in 2019, so stay tuned!

Book preview

Chapter 1

Are you ready to go, Casey? my mom, Meredith, asked as she buckled my baby sister into her travel seat.

I picked up the diaper bag and my tiny lion stuffed animal, which was my absolute favorite. That little lion and I went everywhere together. We were getting ready to go see my great-grandfather.

I have everything, Mommy. I even have Jenny’s diaper bag and Larry Lion’s, too.

I loved going to my great-grandfather’s house. He lived in such a large, beautiful, white colonial with black shutters on each of the windows, and it sat on a massive piece of property, which seemed to go on forever. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was only three years old back then and everything seemed oversized, or if it actually did.

In his backyard was my tiny hideaway spot tucked behind a small patch of bushes and trees, where a picnic table stood on top of a floor made of substantially large inlaid stones. I would go to the table a lot to enjoy the sweet fragrance of the honeysuckle bushes and the mimosa trees that I had to pass through. They all seemed to be magical, somehow, whenever my great-grandfather appeared.

Let’s get into the car. Are you sure you’re ready? Mom’s voice broke my daydream and brought me back to our trip.

Oh, sorry. Yes, I’ve got everything, Mommy.

We got into the car. It was a big green Rambler with an extremely loud engine, which always made me jump whenever it started. I sat in the front seat next to my mom, with Jenny, my baby sister, in her car seat safely secured into the back. My mom came around to the driver’s side and took her position before she put the key in the ignition. Here we go! she said as I covered my ears to prepare for the great big roar of the car engine that I knew was inevitable. As always, I jumped, and my mom chuckled at my reaction before she told me, Hold onto Larry. He sounds a bit fierce today.

We pulled out of the driveway of our home. It was a small ranch style house with two bedrooms. My mom was doing the best she could to raise us. My father, Alex, left her with two children, and no money. I had thought it was my fault for his departure, because I was the one who told my mom my father was with another woman, and I also informed her that I saw him kissing the woman. But my mom never made me feel guilty in any way. She insisted it would have been someone else that told her if I hadn’t.

The scent in the air was delightful as we drove down the road. I could smell all the deliciously sweet late summer flowers in bloom as their perfume filled the air. I rolled the window down a little more and leaned closer to allow the fragrance and warmth to fill me.

I looked over at my mom. She was beautiful. The sun caught the strawberry highlights in her dark blonde hair and danced in her light blue eyes as they sparkled when she looked at me with a little smile. I looked over at my six-month-old sister, Jenny, to make sure she was okay. She was sitting in the back seat with her teething ring in hand, shaking it up and down and making cooing sounds as she did. Jenny was cute with her small button nose, porcelain white skin, and bright blue eyes. Her hair was coming in the same color as my mom’s. I had to admit; I was always jealous of that fact. I was the only person in our family who had dark brown hair and green eyes. Sometimes, I felt incredibly out of place whenever we had our family get-togethers as I sat around a bunch of tall blondes with blue eyes. I felt like such an outsider like I didn’t belong. Of course, they never made me feel that way. I just always felt different.

We were on the parkway headed east toward the tall hill on our island, Long Island. It appeared to be more of a mountain to me, at that time. On the top of the hill stood a towering monument in the median of the parkway, which looked like a flag on a pole with no wind blowing.

I was watching my mom’s hair flutter in the wind when all of a sudden Mom’s appearance changed as she looked into the rearview mirror. I knew something was wrong, very wrong.

Quick, get down. Tuck yourself under the seat and tell Larry to make lots of roars. We’re going to need it to get up this hill! her voice was shaking as she spoke.

I didn’t know what was going on, but the look on Mom’s face told me not to question her, so I did as I was instructed to do. I got down low on the floor, pulled my knees up to my chest, and held Larry real tight. I could hear the roar of the engine as it strained while we proceeded to the monument. It was such an old car, and whenever we made the trip, the hill was always a struggle to get over.

Mom turned to look to her left. She shouted out her window, Leave us alone! You have no right to be following us! Suddenly, the Rambler jerked to the right and caused me to rock into the middle divider of the car. The vehicle did it again with an amazingly loud crunch sound, which forced my head to crash into that same wall.

Casey, get down further. Tuck yourself into a ball and keep close to the center, she told me.

Again, I did as she instructed. My fear only intensified, which made my heart pound so hard in my chest. I couldn’t tell what had caused our car to react as it did. I could hear my mom’s breath increase and saw her eyes narrow as we made the trip up the hill to the monument at the top.

Alex, what are you trying to do? Kill us? my mom screamed out the window.

It was my father! But why? Panic raced through my veins as my heartbeat increased with each minute. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Please make it stop. Please make it stop, was all I thought to myself as I repeated it over and over again in my head and concentrated on each word to calm myself.

The crunch sound came again and again, causing the car to veer to the right, and me to slide further into the center of the Rambler’s floor. My sister started to cry loudly as only a baby could. I didn’t even remember she was in the back seat until she cried. The look of terror in my mom’s eyes as she glanced down at me sent shivers down my spine. I wanted so much to check on my sister to make sure she was safe. I wanted it to stop. I couldn’t move. My fear was so great that it seemed to grab hold of me, locked me into position, and kept me frozen in time. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t scream.

We’re almost to the top, girls. Hang on. This will all end soon, she took a deep breath, He’ll have to stop with the police stationed there. Her last statement was spoken so low that I thought it was meant more for her benefit than for mine.

My father must have known about the police, too, because our car no longer lurched in odd directions as we got closer to the top. Keep down, Casey, she told me, We’re going to go into the monument’s parking lot. Don’t move until we get there.

When we finally reached our destination at the top of the hill, the car stopped, and the roar of the engine was turned off. Mom looked at my sister and me quickly, Are you two okay? she asked. Anything hurt?

No, I think I’m good, I told her while I made my way up and onto the chair. Why was Daddy trying to kill us? I asked as I saw the panic that was still in her eyes. I was more afraid of what had just happened to us than how I felt. I just couldn’t comprehend why our father would have done such a thing.

She got us out of the car and thoroughly examined us. I’m just glad we’re all safe, she told me while holding Jenny, just before she looked over to the monument. The officer, who stood by his car, took a good look at my mom. He must have seen the look of terror in her face and ours, or it could have been the mangled side of the car which grabbed his attention, or perhaps it could have been both that sent him immediately over to us. He towered over my mom, and was very muscular with a broad build.

Are you okay, Ma’am? he asked. His voice was as rugged as he looked.

I need to make a phone call, my mom said as she shook from head to toe.

He brought us up to his car and allowed her to use the cruiser phone, Grandpa, he’s after us. Can you please pick us up at the monument? After a short pause, she said, Thank you.

Why was he after us? I couldn’t fathom why my father had turned into such a monster who would want to hurt us like he had attempted to do. It didn’t make any sense.

She followed the officer, with my sister held tightly in her arms, while I sat in the back seat of the cruiser. They were standing by my mom’s car, and he had what looked like a pad, which he whipped out of his pocket. As my mom explained what had happened, he jotted down lots of notes. I would have loved to have known what she had told him. I wanted to be right next to her to hear it.

My great-grandfather had arrived remarkably fast, and stood right at my mom’s side with his hand gently placed on her shoulder. She turned and started to cry against his chest. He was so much taller than her with a full head of light grey hair. He was also slim, just like most of the members of my family. My great-grandfather held her hand and kissed her forehead right before he took my sister from her. She took a deep breath before she continued to speak with the officer, who wrote more intently on his pad to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

The officer, my great-grandfather with my sister in his arms, and my mom came over to the cruiser. Right before he opened the door, my mom took my sister from my great-grandfather.

How are you? You’re not hurt, are you? my great-grandfather asked as he examined me. I shook my head in response. He took my hand and picked me up. Come on my little munchkins, let’s get you home.

He drove us all back to his incredible house. The smell of the honeysuckles that grew in his backyard stimulated my senses. My aunt, uncle, and my grandparents greeted us outside as we arrived. All of them were very tall and slim with blonde hair and blue eyes. It was funny, but the moment I saw them all, the fear I felt a moment ago seemed to have gone away. I took a deep breath and ran to them.

Wow, you grew since we last saw you! How old are you, now? Are you eight? my uncle teased. He was always good at cracking jokes at just the right time. I giggled as I ran into the house and stopped in the sitting area, took a deep breath, and relaxed once I got a whiff of the delicious smell of cherry tobacco my great-grandfather always smoked. His lit pipe sat on the ashtray by his chair. He must have left the house the minute he got off the phone with my mom. I was so thankful for having such a loving family.

My great-grandfather followed me into the house while my mom remained outside with my aunt and uncle and spoke about the event. My mom held Jenny so close to her in her arms. Jenny had stopped crying, and appeared much happier with her teething ring in hand and her eyes wide with excitement as she looked at my aunt.

Come with me. We’re going to go out to our magical place, my great-grandfather bent down and whispered to me.

I knew where he was talking about, our place, my little hideaway from everything. We walked through the grand center hall and over to the French doors. They were the entrance to his fantastic garden. I opened the doors and glanced at my great-grandfather. He was such a gentleman, full of life and just so much fun to be around. I looked back into the garden and could see our special place in his beautiful backyard, behind the small cluster of trees and bushes, which resembled a tiny forest and stood off in the distance.

He bent down to me and whispered into my ear, I’ll race you, he looked at me with a grin from ear to ear. Ready? On your mark. Get set. Go!

I ran right to our garden and sat under the picnic table, out of breath, and waited for him to come out through the forest of trees. I couldn’t see him. Is he coming? Where did he go? I thought to myself, and then I felt his hand on my shoulder. When I turned around, he was on his knees behind me with a great big smile on his face.

I think it was a tie, he said as he gave me a wink, I can’t get under the table anymore, but I did get here when you did. You just couldn’t see me.

I giggled.

He went over to his magical garden, as he liked to call it. With me by his side, he pulled off a honeysuckle flower and held it out to me, It’s a little candy from the heavens. Take out the long strand and taste it.

I studied him, curiously, But it’s a flower. How can it be candy?

Trust me, he responded. Not everything is as it seems, Casey. Curious, I did as he directed me, took the long stem of the center of the flower out, and began to suck on it. Sure enough, it was so sweet, like honey, with a hint of a floral flavor. It was a taste that I will always remember. I looked at him with surprise, and he smiled in response.

He walked over to the Mimosa tree, which stood not much taller than my great-grandfather and was covered entirely in perfect little pink puffballs. It was my favorite tree, and it wasn’t just because of the unusual flowers. It had more to do with the fact that my great-grandfather made it so.

Close your eyes and make a wish, he whispered into my ear. I studied him for a second. He gave me a soft little grin before I closed my eyes tightly and made the wish he had taught me.

I wish for a special coin, I whispered to myself. Just then, I heard the clink of the coin the second it hit the stone of the patio. I knew what just happened and opened my eyes immediately with a big smile on my face. I glanced up at my great-grandfather, and he, too, had a smile from ear to ear. Somehow, whenever my great-grandfather stood next to it, money would fall from the tree.

Wow, magic! I said, looking at him with amazement.

I couldn’t do it without you, Casey. You willed it to happen, and I helped it appear. It’s because of you that magic happens, he said with a glimmer in his eyes.

I couldn’t help being shocked by his statement, Me? But how?

He reached over and kissed me on my forehead. Just believe, and you will see the magic happen. It’s inside of you. In time you will see, but always believe.

I picked up the large coin from the patio floor and stared at it. I wanted more than anything to be able to focus on the coin. However, what happened in the car still lingered in my thoughts. Why would Daddy want to do those things to us? Why would he want to hurt our car? What was he trying to do?

Wow, that’s a lot of questions, my great-grandfather said. He brought his hand to my face and brushed my cheek with his thumb, Come and sit next to me.

We walked over to the bench of the picnic table, and I sat right next to him. I fiddled with the coin in my hand and focused my attention on him. The look of worry was written all over his face. We don’t know why people do what they do, he told me. No one would want to hurt you if they knew what a special gift you are. Sometimes, people go through life not seeing, not looking, and make bad choices. Today was a bad choice, but you’re safe now. You’re all safe now, and we’ll take care of things. Always remember to believe. Good things will come, even from the bad. They will see the wrong in what they did, but you must look to the future and know that this is just a moment of your life and you will grow from what just happened. Don’t let it hurt you, Casey. We won’t let it hurt you. You just need to believe in yourself.

I observed him, still very confused, even more so after his statement, Huh?

He gazed into my eyes and held my hand, Don’t worry, you’ll understand in time. Just remember to believe, like you just did in our magic garden. You can make things happen, good things, you just have to believe. Come. Let’s go inside. He stood up from the bench. I followed, still baffled by everything, and held even tighter to the coin in my hand. I want you to try something. Just believe. Can you do that?

I nodded in response.

Good, he said.

We walked through the grand garden up to the French doors to the house. As we peered inside through the door’s windows, I saw everyone as they gathered in the middle of the great hall. They were all deep in conversation with each other. My mom still had Jenny in her arms as Jenny studied the necklace my mom had around her neck, and held it in her little tiny hands. They all seemed so concerned and deep in thought, except for Jenny. She was involved with her new shiny discovery.

Let’s try out your magic, Casey. I bet you can make everyone smile, my great-grandfather said with a smile.

I glanced at them and back at him. His bet seemed like an impossible goal, How? I asked.

Magic, Casey. It’s inside of you. Try to focus on making everyone smile when you go inside. Keep the vision in your head and show them the result of our magic trick. It will work, trust me, you just have to believe in you.

We walked through the large French doors into the house and stood in the great hall. Everyone was still deep in conversation. My great-grandfather closed the door behind him with a loud thud, which caught me off guard and made me jump a little. Everyone turned around at the noise.

Casey has something to show you all. Go ahead Casey, he announced to everyone.

I took a deep breath and held up the large silver coin, hesitantly, and said, It’s magic! and everyone smiled at me. I could not help but smile back. Did I do that? Could I really be magic? I thought to myself. Cool, I said, as I looked up at my great-grandfather, who stood just to my side with an enormous big grin on his face.

It’s magic, Casey. You just have to believe, he whispered to me with a wink.

Chapter 2

As time went on, I held onto the memory of our moment together, though doubt was far more significant than my belief. My great-grandfather was only to stay with us for a very short four months after that day. I had so many questions and so many plans, but all were put on hold when he got sick, and he was taken to the hospital. Mom said his heart was weak and he was very old. He didn’t look very old to me. But I didn’t understand age back then. I never gave much thought to how old everyone was.

We would go to the hospital to see him, and every time he had become weaker than the time before. I would try to wish for him to get better, but it didn’t seem to do any good. Every time we would go to see my great-grandfather, he had more things attached to him that made odd noises. He liked to joke about the tube in his nose, his air, as he called it. He would joke about how he could smell the honeysuckles from his backyard because they gave him the comforts of home, and had his flowers pumped through the air he breathed. He would try to joke about it, trying to find the humor in it, as he would say. It only scared me to see him hooked up to all the tubes like he was. I wanted him home.

On the morning of my birthday, we went to see him. He looked very worn and tired, but lit up as soon as he saw us as we stood at the door.

Hey, it’s my birthday munchkin! Come on in, Princess! he greeted me with such a warm smile.

I immediately ran right over to his side, Good morning, Great-Grandpa!

Wow, Casey, you look different today. New dress? he asked.

I glanced down at what I was wearing, No. I had this awhile.

Hmm… New shoes?

I giggled, No.

Oh, I know what it is. You’re a year older today! Come on up here, my little princess. I have a very special gift I want to give to you. But it’s a secret, he winked at my mom as he spoke.

I’ll be right outside, my mom said as she walked out of the room.

He handed me a small package wrapped in black paper and adorned with a beautiful gold bow on top, This is for you.

What is it? I asked excitedly as I carefully removed the wrapping from his gift. Tucked inside the box was the most beautiful silver locket I had ever seen. It was round, with intricate scrollwork engraved around an opened circle, which was thin on one side and thicker on the other. In the middle was a star. On the back of the locket was ivy scrollwork etched into it. The sophisticated details were exquisite. It’s beautiful! I told him as I ran my finger over the engraved ivy.

I’m so glad you like it. It’s an heirloom. This locket has been in our family for almost four hundred years.

Really? Has Mommy seen it?

Hmm…no. It’s a secret, remember? It’s a special secret. It can only be worn by one very special person, and the honor goes to you, Casey.

Me? I looked at it as if it was going to tell me something, like it held some old hidden message, and opened it. Inside the locket was an old black and white photo of a young woman with long, wavy hair. On the other side was another black and white picture of a young man whose features were very similar to my great-grandfather. Both images appeared to have been drawings instead of photographs. Who is she? I asked.

She, Casey, was one very exceptional woman. Her name was Lily. She would be your great-grandmother. Next time you come in, I will tell you more about her. He put the necklace on me. There. I think we should let your mom in, though. She might be getting bored outside. Go ahead. You can call her.

Mommy?

In she came with a cake in her hands, and had a few of the nurses on the floor follow behind her. All of them wore party hats and sang Happy Birthday to me. I was bright red from embarrassment, and overwhelmed by all of their kindness that they showed me that day.

It was a lovely memory and one that I would never forget. That locket was always very special to me.

It was also the last time I saw my great-grandfather on earth. He passed away in his sleep. Mom said he was in heaven and I should still believe. Believe in what, I didn’t know. That I was magical? I wished every day for my great-grandfather to be well enough to come out of the hospital and back into his beautiful house, but, that didn’t go very well for him, now did it? Believe in what?

It seemed so long ago. Thirteen years and ten months, to be exact. But who was counting? I never honestly felt like I belonged, and my family's attempt to make me believe I was magical certainly didn’t help the situation at all. We had moved six times since he passed. Every time, I would enter a new school halfway through the year. I never really knew why we did. I just knew my sad attempt to fit in would always be a challenge. Every time I would hope it would be the year my magical abilities would suddenly work, but they never did. I had gotten picked on quite severely the one time I had wished for a coin from under a tree. I had tried so hard to get it to work. Perhaps a little too hard because a teacher had gotten wind of what I had attempted to do, which caused her to believe my family was struggling. I had no idea why, and was confused when she gave me money to bring home to my mother. Needless to say, the money was returned, and we moved shortly after that.

Next came the name calling. The most popular name of choice was freak. I hated to be called that, and they all knew it, and the name calling repeatedly occurred school after school. I would always wish for them to stop, tried to believe that they would, but they never did.

My eyes were a big part of the problem, too. To have green eyes, you would think it would be great, unusual, and even different. But when you’re the new kid in a big school, different wasn't very helpful. It only made things worse. I began to despise my eye color. I would sit on the bed with my hand mirror and wish we had money, so perhaps I could purchase colored contact lenses to hide them for the next school that I would be attending. My mom just repeated the same thing my great-grandfather did, as if it would have made everything all better. She would always tell me that I only had to believe in myself. Seriously? I stopped believing a long time ago. I also gave up on wishing for anything. All I could do was hope it would be different for my senior year.

We were getting ourselves ready to move again and at the start of school instead of halfway into it. Seven times a charm. Maybe there would be another freak in school with green eyes, or maybe yellow! Hmm…that might be way too much to hope for, but I was desperate for at least my final year in school to be somewhat decent.

To add salt to my already deep wound, we were to go over to Ava and Clint’s house. My mom was to go out on a date with a new man named Preston. Ava and Clint’s house was like our summer retreat, or at least my mom and Preston tried to convince us it was.

Preston seemed very kind, sweet, and much better than the others she had gone out with the past few years. He seemed genuine. He was a tall man with black hair, which crowned around the back of his head, and he sported a mustache and goatee. She turned all sorts of shades of pink when she saw him, and I could see him do the same through all his facial hair.

Preston and my mom were to be married in November, and that was the reason for our move to a new town with children more like me. At least that was what my mom had told me. To make things easier, we were to move into the house before the school year started so it wouldn’t be such a hard transition. My mom, Jenny, and I would live there until after Preston and my mom’s wedding, at which point he would come to stay.

I liked him a lot. He seemed genuinely concerned for our well-being. It made me feel better about our new location when he was so worried about my transition. He wanted to make sure he gave me a fighting chance.

We would go over to Ava and Clint’s when my mom and Preston went out during the days in the summer so we could enjoy their pool, since we didn’t have one of our own. As long as their boys weren’t there, we had a good time. Ava didn’t have girls of her own and loved having us there. Her girls’ day out, she would say. Ava and Clint had three boys, Knoxavier, Blaze, and Vladin. Jenny and I thought they were more like big devils than boys.

Knoxavier was the oldest with a very handsome face, and dark brown hair that he always wore short on the sides with it a little longer on top, so that his bangs slightly covered one of his eyes. He would do the head flip thing with it. Now and then, he would spike it up. He always wore his black sunglasses, even in the house, which seemed a bit odd to me, but I would never dare approach him to ask him why. Knoxavier was quite tall and enjoyed working out and going to the beach often. He was two years older than me. He was remarkably handsome, I must admit, if you could get past the scowl that he always seemed to have around me. He was also incredibly nasty, and the way he carried himself like he owned the world, would make anyone shudder. He was a genuine bad boy. I could feel him around me without even looking at him. I could feel him watching me, too, which always made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was almost as if my body knew he was dangerous as much as my mind did. He didn’t even have to announce himself. I could sense him in the room, and when I turned around, I would catch him watching me through his dark sunglasses like I was his prey. He had a unique quality about him that just did crazy things to me. He made me feel unhinged. My stomach would tighten in knots from only the sound of his name.

Blaze and Vladin were twins, but not identical. They were equally as attractive as Knoxavier, dark hair, with chiseled bodies. Each wore their hair shorter than Knoxavier’s, but continued the same flip thing that he did. They were only a year older than me and towered over me by a good foot. They followed Knoxavier everywhere and always stood a few steps behind him. They would shadow his every move and obey his every command, without a word spoken by Knoxavier, but by a gesture or a glance. It was as if they had no brains of their own. The entire thing was a bit freaky, if you asked me.

They were terrors and would always attempt to scare or tease us. Mom would often tell us that they liked us and their behavior was the result of how boys handled things. Personally, I didn’t believe her. I always thought their names fit them perfectly; scary beyond belief. Besides, I couldn’t imagine them still playing games like that at their age. To be frank, I honestly thought my mom had forgotten how old I indeed was, or them, for that matter.

The last time we were there, poor Jenny ended up with a massive wad of bubblegum stuck to her hair, and it took a good part of the afternoon to remove it. Ava said it was an accident, and that Blaze didn’t realize Jenny was there when he threw his gum out, but the gum didn't rest on the top of her hair. Instead, it had been stuck to her scalp, and had leaves embedded in it from when he wrestled her to the ground to get it into her hair pretty good. Kids will be kids was Ava’s explanation of the event to my mom. Yeah, well, her statement would be true if we all were kids.

As my mom and Preston drove us over, she insisted our time over at Ava’s would be different. The boys were to go with Clint, their father, to an event at an old lighthouse on the north shore. They would be gone all day and, hopefully, Mom and Preston would be back before the boys returned. I could do this, I hoped. We would be able to swim undisturbed all afternoon. They had a large in-ground pool in their backyard, and since it was an awfully hot day, it should have been fun and enjoyable, at least in theory.

We took all of our swim items. Jenny had her inner tube, and we both brought our goggles. We made sure to pack our towels and flip-flops. Jenny had a cute pair of little flowers on top of hers, and they even matched her bathing suit. She was such a girly girl. She loved to have her hair just right, and I had to polish her nails the day before to match her new bathing suit. I had my black swimsuit and a pair of black flip-flops. I tried not to label myself with color. I had been picked on for my eye color long enough that I really didn't want to be picked on for my color choices as well. My family called it my black phase. I just figured it was safer that way. Black always went with black, and I didn’t need to bring any more attention to myself than was necessary. I seemed to be able to do that all on my own.

When we arrived, as promised by my mom, Knoxavier, Blaze, Vladin, and Clint were not there. They all had gone to spend time at the lighthouse event. Jenny and I ran directly to the pool, and rested our towels right on the stairs, along with my small black velvet bag that I had put my unique locket inside of for safe keeping. They had an enormous rectangular pool surrounded by a natural stone border complete with a diving board at the far end. Two lounge chairs sat under a cabana at the side of the pool. The water was so lovely, and was the perfect temperature for the day.

Mom came over to the edge of the pool, after she spoke with Ava about their plans for the day, and gave us both a kiss. Have fun, and don’t turn into prunes! she told us just before she left. Yeah, as I said, she forgot how old I really was.

We swam for what seemed like hours. Jenny didn’t like to swim underwater. She really didn't want to get her hair wet, but wore goggles, which was funny to me. Why Jenny protected her eyes when she had no plan to go underwater was beyond me. But Jenny would always do things like that. She did finally decide to take off her goggles and put them on the side of the pool. I just saw my reflection! It’s too tight. They were making my lips look big, like this, she puckered her lips and made them appear huge.

Oh, now that’s a look, I laughed. It’s a big improvement, Jenny.

Oh, nice! she responded, splashing me, which quickly turned into a little water fight. We laughed and played for quite some time.

It was such a beautiful day. The warm summer sun shone brightly above, and the pool was all to ourselves. It was a great day, or so we thought it was going to be, until the wet hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention.

Jenny, quick, go inside, they’re back!

But I didn’t hear anything. I don’t even see the guys. Are you sure? She turned to look at me, and within a split second, she had begun to splash through the water to the stairs.

I assisted her over to the steps and helped her get out. She snatched her towel, put it around her, and held it up while she shook like a leaf. Quickly, she picked up her flip-flops and started to run to the back door, barefooted.

I forgot my goggles! she yelled back to me, as she opened the door and ran inside before I had a chance to respond to her.

She left me alone to gather our things. As soon as I started to go to the side of the pool where she left her goggles, the oddest screech came from above me. When I looked up, there were four enormously large birds circling above. Their wingspan looked to have been four feet wide. Their heads were large with a sharp hooked beak, and their faces had the form