Jade's Awakening (Delacourt Saga Book 1) (2 page)

She looked through the convention program and read some of the biographies of the actors who would be there. She was interested in one of the actors who also had a blog about dreams. She fell onto her bed and swayed her legs as she flipped through the pages.

"There you are, Seven Rhodes," she said. He was a teenage actor who played a werewolf in a low budget television series. He was known in the shapeshifter world as a "budget shifter" because he used his powers to enhance his appearance as a wolf on the show. The makeup department was notorious for their poor work. His realistic wolf look and shapeshifting helped keep viewers hooked on the show.

"I'm finally going to get answers from you," she said, caressing his photo with her finger. She'd had a crush on him years ago, but now, with everything going on, she didn't have time for romance.

Instead, she wanted to ask him about dreams. He described a dream that she had almost every night. In the dream, she fell to the floor as a large snake. She then slithered on the dirt, rubbed up against stones and removed her skin. Seven Rhodes described that same dream in his blog and said it was rare and had deep meaning, yet he never explained it. When she had emailed him, he dismissed her, saying that if she was interested she would find a way to get her answers. She emailed him again, and he never responded.

Jade closed the convention program. Her phone alarm sounded, marking the time for Jade to take her final dose. This would be her last pill until her awakening and would help reduce her awakening and make her a near human.

She opened up the leather pouch and slipped out one red pill. Jade held the pill in her hand and walked to the bathroom. The medication was given to her by a local herbalist who specialized in helping supernaturals be more like regulars.

Jade turned the faucet on and listened to the sound of the water flowing. She rested her hands on the cold slate counter.

"That elevator vampire crap could have gone bad," Jade said. She was glad that she hadn't lost control. She looked in the mirror and touched her face, wondering how it could change like that.

Whenever Jade took a suppression pill, she felt lethargic for about an hour and then she felt okay. After last summer's attack, Jade felt like a ticking bomb. She wouldn't dare miss a dose. She was scared of what she would do… or become.

Jade filled the glass with water and swirled it a few times creating mini waves in the glass. She walked onto her balcony. The afternoon sun streaked through the buildings like shafts of gold. The beauty of the moment calmed her a little, enough for her to realize that in a few hours all her questions would be answered.

She just wanted to be rid of it all and be normal. She sighed. Jade cradled the pill in her hand and briefly wondered what it would be like if she dared to throw them off the balcony and just give in to her awakening.

"What would I become?" Jade stood on her balcony and looked at the clouds forming above her.

She heard a screeching sound. A bird dashed into her room, grazing her hand and causing the pill to fall. The bird was the size of a crow and was multi-colored with a black beak.

A screeching sound interrupted her thoughts. A bird dashed into her room, grazing her hand and causing her pill to fall. The size of a crow, it was multicolored with a black beak.

Jade screamed and the glass of water crashed against the sliding glass door, which cracked into a spider pattern and then shattered on the balcony's cement and the room's carpet.

She turned and gasped at what she saw. Jade tore off her shirt and wrapped it around her hand before grabbing a large shard of glass. She edged towards the figure, with her outstretched hand holding the makeshift weapon.

Jade had the stance of a seasoned fighter, legs spread apart and body low to the ground, ready to spring in any direction. Blood pounded in her veins as she waited to see what was before her.

Surrounding a small figure was a portal ring of liquid silver air ripples. The figure grew and shifted from multicolored then slowly turned to black. It stayed crouched until the ripples vanished. He lifted his head revealing a handsome face. His clothes were dark green and so were his eyes.

"How did you get in here? Who are you?" She stepped back. Broken glass crunched under her boots.

He stood up and took a step towards her, and then he stepped back. He put his hands up, "Relax. I am here to help you. I am on your side, not like the others. My name is David. I have been sent to save you from making a grave mistake."

"The only mistake here is you being in my room," she said. She jabbed at the air between them as a warning. "Don't you step any closer."

"I came to help you. I know who your mother was,” he said with a gentle smile. "Look at you. You want to be a regular. No regulars know how to do what you are doing unless they are trained." He gestured at her wrapped hand holding the glass.

Jade straightened and shook her head, closing the curtains behind her without moving from her spot. The glare from outside was making it difficult for Jade to see her opponent. Her breathing grew heavy as she concentrated. She stretched out her left hand, and her cell phone flew to her. White and purple splotches appeared on her skin.

"Impressive, Jade. You have fairy ways already. Just think what you can become with more training," he said. "I admire your beauty and strength. We fairies are very proud to call you our own."

"I'm calling the police, and you can tell them all the stories you want."

"Jade, I know you were adopted. I know that your mother loved you very much. You are rare and you are in danger, especially now that you will be awakened," he said.

"Have you been spying on me?" she asked in disgust. She stepped near him. "I am not afraid of you. If you've been spying on me, you know I almost killed two men."

"I do know of this situation," David said. He nodded listening to her.

"You know that whatever I am, I'm dangerous. I can't control myself," she said.

"I can show you how to harness your power without those pills," he said, pointing to the trampled pill. "Whatever you become tonight needs to happen without any interference. Otherwise, you will lose your powers." David's expression was solemn.

"I know what I want. I know what I want to be," Jade said. She would miss many things being regular, but she couldn't trust herself anymore as a half-fairy and half-unknown.

David waved one hand over her quickly and stepped forward. “You must listen to me Jade, this is quite serious.”

Jade looked down and saw that her hands and feet were bound. "How did you do this?" She asked in disbelief. She struggled to free herself.

He smiled and shook his head. "I can teach you new tricks too. With your powers, you can do more than I can," David said. He walked around her.

She spun around, keeping him in her view. She was angry at herself for getting into this situation. “Let me go.”

He turned and framed her face in his hands and said quickly, "Trust me, Jade. We're going on a journey. Touch my hand and close your eyes." David grabbed her hand and made her eyes close with fairy magic.

She closed her eyes then opened them. She found herself unbound near David.

"Do not move," he warned.

"Don't tell me what to—" She lost her footing and fell. He reached out his hand and closed and opened his fist. She was suspended in mid-air.

"I said do not move. You must trust me, Jade," he said as he motioned for her.

She somehow moved safely back near him. She wasn’t ready to trust anybody. She looked up at him, grateful that he'd saved her. He smelled like earthy leather wrapped in sunlight. She looked away and noticed all the people below.

She and David were perched at the top of a tall architectural design that looked like a cross between a sail and modern bridge. They stood above the chaos and looked down. Some of the sounds echoed up to where they were, but most of the sounds danced below.

"Are we above the elevators?"

"Yes, is it not beautiful?" he asked.

People were bustling about in line for food, in line for convention events and above all, gawking at the amazing costumes. There were thousands of people below in the dance of cosplay excitement.

She looked at David, then she looked down, drinking it all in.

"I've been having dreams of being this high and looking down. I thought I was going crazy," she said. She stopped herself, not wanting David to think that she trusted him. Jade marveled at how peaceful everything looked from above.

"It is beautiful," Jade said. She looked down and knelt, mesmerized by the scene below. She lifted her head and tears streamed from her eyes. She noticed she could hear conversations from below. "I can hear them," she murmured in disbelief. "I've never been able to hear this clearly from so far away."

"You are not supposed to be one of them, Jade. You are supposed to protect them," David said. "You are getting ready for your awakening. What do you
feel
, Jade?"

"I feel a gushing of love for everyone below. Like each one is my child."

"You are a Protector Fairy. It was obvious the day that you almost killed those two men," he said nodding. "You always focus on that. Instead, we fairies focused on that day being the first day your natural Protector ways broke through and guided you to save the man they were attacking."

"I'm a Protector Fairy? Where are the other fairies like me?" she asked hopefully. She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "How am I rare?" she continued, not knowing if she wanted to hear his answer. "Sorry, I have a lot of questions," she said sheepishly.

"Touch my hand and close your eyes," he said. They materialized in the woodlands in one of the many regions of the Metro Atlanta area which were dense with trees.

Jade walked around and noticed an almost engulfed ring of stones. There were almost two decades of growth and dirt covering them. The full moon above cast an ethereal glow to the fairy circle.

An owl hooted, and rain began to fall gently. Thick gray clouds scudded across the moon in the late summer sky.

"This is where you were born," he said.

"Am I good or evil? What if I awaken into whatever my father was?" she asked, voicing the question that had plagued her since she first noticed she was different. Jade was worried and waited for David's answer. She felt like she knew him for much longer than a couple of hours.

He walked up to her and stood inches from her. Moonlight highlighted his features. His brown eyes pierced through and quickened something in her. His dark brown hair and full lips made her wish that all of her problems would vanish.

"I don't want you to feel like you are alone. I have been watching you for a while and I know that you will awaken to you and no one else."

Jade looked at him and felt a dagger pierce her heart and a feeling of sadness swallow her senses.

She gasped and clutched at her heart. She expected to see the hilt of a sword protruding from her chest.

"Are you okay?" he asked, touching her hand.

"Yes," she said. "I want to know more about my parents."

The grass rustled and the shriek of a bird filled the night. An arrow screamed by their ears, thudding into a tree trunk behind Jade.

"They are coming," David said. He shook his head and looked down at Jade quizzically. "Who else knows you are here?" Voices wafted through the dense trees.

"What?" she asked. There was so much she needed to learn about this new world. She had no idea her parents sheltered her from so much.

"Hold my hand and close your eyes," he said.

Jade reached towards him and touched the sheets on her bed. Her eyes flew open. She looked at the sliding glass door. It wasn't broken. She ran outside of her hotel room and checked that she was still in room 1518.

"Was I dreaming?" she asked in disbelief.

Jade grabbed her phone and swiped it to check the time. It was half past ten. Several hours had passed. She spun around her room looking for any evidence that David had been there or that she had left the room. She was dressed in the same clothes as hours earlier, even wearing the shirt that she thought she ripped. Relief flowed through her. It had only been a dream.

She ran into the bathroom and opened her pouch containing her last red pill. The pouch was empty. She searched everywhere and couldn't find it.

Jade lay back down and fixed her eyes on the ceiling as she tried to absorb what just happened to her. David was real, and she was doomed to awaken without any restraint.

"How is this possible?" she asked out loud. She needed more answers and knew where to go.

It was eleven o'clock and Jade knocked on Seven Rhode's hotel door. He stood in the open doorway wearing pants and a towel draped over one shoulder.

"Jade, you finally came. It took you long enough," he said. He turned his back on her and threw the towel on his bed. He walked to his closet, slowly put on a shirt and left the buttons undone.

She stood at the door and looked around his huge hotel room. Her hotel room looked like a closet compared to his room. The door swung shut and she remained near the entrance like a statue.

"How do you know who I am?" she asked. She watched him as he studied her.

"Sit," he said. Seven ignored Jade's question.

Jade ignored his command. "I'll stand, thank you."

He stepped close enough to smell her hair. "Nice. Lavender and a bit of the essence of Jade." Seven closed his eyes and smiled.

She looked at him. He was too handsome to be trusted. She felt the warmth from his body and tried stepping back, but the wall met her. She was ready to run if she had to.

"David was right. You are beautiful," he said.

"You know David?" She shook her head.

"David didn't tell you the whole truth. He does that a lot. I should know him. I was raised by his family for most of my life. It was quite the scandal having a shapeshifter boy raised by fairies," he said.

It was like time stood still. Seven's gaze held her in a type of trance. His eyes pulled her into a state that made her want to fall to the ground and curl at his feet like a woodland animal. But she didn't have time for romance. She had to find out what was happening before she hurt someone else. She pushed down the attraction that crept over her skin.

Seven looked down then caught her gaze. "Your father was a powerful shapeshifter, Jade. He was in opposition to the Protector Fairy's philosophy. His name was Mykrenos. He shapeshifted into a fairy, which is unheard of to this day, and seduced your mother. It took him several months to win her over, but she finally fell for his charms. He had a vendetta against your grandfather and vowed to ruin your family's long lineage of Protectors. I have no idea what David's been telling you, but you're not just a fairy, Jade."

"A shapeshifter?" She asked. She ran her hands over her face and her hair. After a moment, she stood up and started pacing.

"Fearing for your life your mother bore you in secret. She knew her father would kill you to keep the bloodline pure. They say you were born on an evening like tonight, several miles from here in a clearing. Your mother's closest allies set up a stone fairy circle as protection, and you were quickly taken away to safety. You ended up in an orphanage. Your adoptive parents were selected to raise you. Your mother moved away, breaking ties with her family. Your father died in battle."

"How do you know all this?"

"Jade, I've been waiting for you to ask important questions, not just silly answers about a dream."

"You mean my snake dream?"

"Yes, that's a classic shapeshifter dream," he said in a low voice.

"Crap! I wasn't prepared for this. I thought I was part bad human, or rotten fairy or something, but a shapeshifter? I don't even know what a shapeshifter really is," Jade said.

"I'm a shapeshifter. It's not so bad," Seven said.

"Show me," she said. She realized he was even sexier in person. How could a nineteen-year-old be so confident? She asked herself. She made a point of avoiding looking into his eyes for too long. But now, she fixed her gaze on his.

He moved behind the bathroom door and turned off the lights.

She glimpsed flashes of his skin as he unrobed. She knew she should turn away, but couldn't. She held her breath as she listened and watched.

She walked into the dark bathroom and saw him on his hands and knees. His clothes were on the floor as began to change. His entire body contorted and convulsed until he changed into a tiger.

Jade stepped back, knocking the lamp off the table. She swallowed hard then walked up and touched his ears and neck. She sunk her fingers into his warm fur and looked deep into the tiger's eyes. Jade wondered what it felt like to look at the world through the eyes of an animal.

Seven's eyes were green with flecks of gold. He chuffed then let out a rumbling purr. He pushed his head into her hand before he stepped back into the darkened room. He shapeshifted back to his natural human form and then dressed.

"That's amazing. How does your body do that?" Her heart galloped inside her chest. Jade had heard of shapeshifters but had never seen one.

"It just does. I focus on what I want to change into, and I allow it." He walked out with a smile.

"Do I have to see the animal?" It felt good to finally have someone to talk to about shapeshifting. But she didn't know who she should trust.

"You have to see the animal in your mind, that's all." He folded his arms and leaned on the table behind him. His smile was like a low, flickering flame.

Jade stepped closer. "Show me more," she said. Her breathing quickened and she felt her hands tingling. Her fingernails shot out an inch then receded.

"What's happening to me?" she asked. She looked down at her hands seeing her nails changing.

"You are preparing for your awakening. It will be spectacular. You will never be the same, Jade. Your problem is that you've been trying to control it. You need to give in to the awakening, especially since yours will be unique. I'll make sure you are safe tonight. Whatever you do, you must allow your awakening full reign or it may hurt or maybe even kill you." He stepped towards her.

"I don't need your help or David's. Both of you are trying to tell me who I am. David says I'm a fairy and you say I'm a shapeshifter. David should have let me take that pill and then I wouldn't have to worry about what I might become," she said. Jade opened his door and hesitated. "Tell David thanks for ruining my life." She left Seven's door open and stormed out, running back to her room.

Seven shut the door with his bare foot, crossed the room and opened his balcony window. The blue pool sparkled like melted jewels. He watched the full moon ride the skies over Atlanta.

* * *

"Hey, sexy, do you want a magician's helper?" The tall woman stood in the hotel's yellow lighting that made her blue body paint look like a sickly green.

"I work alone. Thank you very much," Henri Delacourt answered. His black cape billowed behind him. He was there for his daughter, Jade.

"Come on, can you help a girl out? I'm all alone. My friends never showed. Take a quick photo, please,” she said, shaking her cell phone in the air.

"I'm in a rush. It's an emergency." Henri looked left towards the elevators, then back at the woman.

"I've got no one here. My boyfriend dumped me yesterday," she pouted.

"Okay, but only one photo. I've got to go find my daughter." His brow was covered with sweat from speed walking. He wiped his face with his hand.

"I only need one pic, I promise." She held out her phone.

Henry grabbed her phone and felt a pinch on his hand. He noticed a long barb retreat back into her green hand. "A Dart Fairy?" he gasped.

"Yes, I am." She snatched her phone back and grabbed him before he staggered to the floor.

He felt lightheaded, then total darkness. He could still hear her, but couldn't respond. He couldn't control his legs, either. He was drugged by the toxins from Erin's skin.

She smiled and her teeth were tinged green too. "I'm one of those nasty fairies no one wants to get stung by. I guess Jade's going to have to wait for super dad to save her." Erin supported Henry and walked him towards the lobby exit. There was a car waiting for them. She leaned forward and said, "Drive to the Alexis Hotel."

Erin sat back and made a call, "I've got Jade's dad. He's safe and sound right next to me. You better have my money." She snapped a photo of them and sent it to her boss.

* * *

Disorientated, Jade wandered through the hotel's hallways. She couldn't believe she was half shapeshifter. The carpet's abstract design made her feel worse. She was so confused and unsure of what was real. She walked by people and stared at costumes. Was that shimmering girl human or elf? Was David under one of the masks? Was that Seven standing with his back to her?

Jade finally found her room and fell asleep for a few minutes. She awoke and slipped into a red dress. She was determined to have fun on her birthday night, if only for thirty minutes before she awakened.

"Today's the worst day of my life," she muttered. She remembered seeing her pill crushed and mixed with broken glass on the ground.

She finally made it to the twentieth floor of the hotel. The crowd was alive and the music was an elixir. She felt carefree for the first time in months. Jade twirled on the dance floor and felt like she was flying. She looked down and saw that her feet were inches above the ground.

"Hey, how'd you do that?" a man asked with a huge smile. His breath was pure whiskey.

"It's a trick," she said. Her feet touched the ground and she quickly left the dance floor.

"Jade!" A familiar voice called.

Jade's head whipped around and she saw the last person she wanted to see, her neighbor, Alejandro.

"I'm not feeling well. I'll catch up to you tomorrow." She searched his eyes, wondering if he'd just seen her levitate. She didn't think he'd actually come. They talked about the convention, but he never really mentioned it much.

"Wow, you look stunning. I just wore jeans; I didn't know it was going to be so fancy." Alejandro said. His raked his fingers through his brown hair, looking around the festive room. "This place is awesome."

"Thanks, but can I catch up with you later? I'm not feeling well," she turned away and took two steps, but could feel Alejandro following her. She turned around and wished she could magically send him back to their hometown an hour from Atlanta.

"Let me come with you. We can catch up," Alejandro said. His deep voice managed to be heard over the cacophony of the music and voices. He touched Jade's arm.

"No, I'll see you tomorrow. It may be contagious.” She had to get back to her room before the awakening happened. Her palms started to sweat. She shrugged Alejandro's hand off and kept walking, weaving in and out of people until she was satisfied she had lost Alejandro in the crowded ballroom. She looked back and was relieved that she didn't have to worry about her neighbor tonight.

Jade was stuck in a sea of people. Her heart pounded in her chest as she felt a stabbing pain as her spine elongated. She looked down and took a few deep breaths to delay her change. She pressed her hands into her stomach to try to stop the pain.

People started looking at her and stepped back, creating a circle around her.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" someone asked.

"Follow me," Seven said. He grabbed her elbow and moved her away from the crowd.

“How did you find me?”

“That doesn’t matter now. We have to try and get you out of this crowd,” he said as he led her towards the large balcony.

Jade fixed her gaze on Seven as she convulsed. The convulsions wracked her body from within, and waves of pain radiated out stronger with each pulse. She ripped her red dress at the neckline and craned her neck up. Her neck skin puckered and tinged purple and white.

"Let it happen. Don't fight it, Jade," Seven said.

Her fingers ached, but she willed herself to open her pouch and grab some soil. She shook with intense pain. Jade lifted her head and blew the soil as far as she could.

The noise of the crowd stopped. The magic soil made them stand still like statues.

David wove through the statue-like people and rammed into Seven.

"Jade, are you okay?" David asked as he avoided punches from Seven.

"She's fine. You have no idea what she is. She's one of my kind— a shapeshifter." The wind blew his hair into Seven’s eyes.

"Help me." she pointed to the back of her dress. The full moon glowed on her reptilian skin.