A New Man

You were making your way through a living shifting maze with a deadly trap and a magical door at the end after having been chased here by a werewolf so that you could go find your damsel in distress in a dark tower, and the damsel just happened to be a tentacle monster from another dimension. Needless to say this was not your average weekday night. Your life had changed so much over the past day and this was just the beginning. With the enchantment that had kept you ignorant of the truth gone you knew that you would see and do things regular folks could only dream about. This life wasn’t going to be easy but damned if you would have it any other way.

Your early insecurities about being “just” a human were fading into a comfortable acceptance thanks in large part to your family.

To your precious little sister Trixie nothing had changed. You were her hero, her first crush, and her beloved big brother. You could do no wrong in her eyes and nothing was ever going to change that. To young Lucian you were more than a protective older brother, your pure untainted human soul gave him nourishment and succor that he could not find easily elsewhere. You might not be able to understand him but you would always accept him for who he was. You remember grandma’s pride telling you of her crafts and how eager she’d been to share them with her grandson, happy to at last have you understand the family and the world as it really was. As weak and fragile as you were you had gained the respect of a werewolf today. You stood side by side with Bron facing down those bullies. He was never in any real danger yet it could have gone very badly for you, your brother understood real bravery when he saw it and admired it though he wouldn’t admit it. That brief talk and the hug that followed from Devany back in the cellar had gone a long way to ease your worried mind, giving you confidence and another point of view just as she’d always done. It was going to be okay she told you and you believed her. She spoke of family unity and being masters of your own fate. She made you an offer, reminding you that there were wondrous options in this crazy new world. And Mom. A smile plays at your lips. Those words she said before you left the house last night had stayed with you. Only one human man in all of history she called son. Damn that made you feel special. And of course you wouldn’t even be here had she not given you her shawl because it was “chilly outside”. She hadn’t tried to stop you that night. She treated you like the man you were, not the child you’d been. With a sigh you even grudgingly admit that your father in his own arrogant and misguided way cared for you. He was doing what he thought he must to protect his family from horrible terrors you’d only got a small taste of yet still shook you to the core.

Each of them loved you and treasured you in their own way and the feeling was mutual. You had the best fucking family you could have ever asked for. You were a Devlin and damn proud of it.

But the Devlin family was missing a member, it was incomplete, and you were going to do everything in your power to correct that. You were the only one that could.

Remembering the maze from last night, how you had to focus to see that goblin, as well as how you had learned to use Trixie’s gift you don’t concentrate so much on your route or the path in front of you but on your ultimate destination. A bit like the laws of nature in the mundane world you were learning that the forces of will, intention, and imagination were important factors with the supernatural. Without a real purpose you could wander this maze for days. The moon now rising in the sky gave you light to see by though you didn’t need it thanks to the eye drop magic that was still active. Not that you needed to see at all. Your path was not a physical one but one of the spirit. As you walk with a strong confident gait through the maze you keep your mind focused on your Vespera and your heart yearning to feel her safely in your arms again.

It works. In half the time as the night before you find yourself turning a corner to see the central area with the stone fountain in the middle. You stop and your eyes pan over the twisting thorny vine archway. You had no protective shawl this evening.

With a deep breath you steel yourself and run as fast as you could. Just before the arch you leap into the air and dive across the threshold. The vines burst to life and whip and snap down around you. One manages to lash across your right calf tearing through cloth and flesh with its wickedly sharp thorns. It nearly gets a grip around your ankle but your momentum carries you forward and you hit the ground and roll to your feet.

“Sssss.” You hiss at the pain of your sliced calf. You can see and feel warm dark blood soaking into the fabric of your pants. You give it a quick once over to make sure it isn’t too serious. It had cut you good but you would live. Pulling off your shirt you use it as a tourniquet then stand and limp toward the central fountain. It is no trouble at all pulling yourself through the pool and out into the main garden.

Looking down into the dark waters of the fountain you see yourself battered and beaten. As bad as Lucian had looked earlier today. The fight with the football players, the fall in the cellar, the scuffle with Bron, and your encounter with the vines had each left their mark. You were bruised all over, your shoulder in particular showing a nasty dark purple patch. Scrapes from a dozen near misses with the thorns marked your skin. Blood had caked beneath your nose and at the edges of your mouth. You had claw marks in your chest and shoulder blade. A big pink knot at your hairline showed where your skull had met the tile floor in the basement. Your left eye had some puffy swelling around it and the knuckles of both your hands were sore and scuffed. And looking down you see the blood from your calf beginning to seep through your makeshift bandage.

But what you also see in the reflection is a man determined. Staring back at you was not the man who walked into that library last night at 8:44 pm. There is a resoluteness in your eyes you had never seen before. For the first time you could remember you had a purpose. A real, honest, heartfelt purpose. All you could think about is your twin and her safety. You needed to know if she was okay. You needed to see her again.

With the cold clear waters of the fountain you give your hands and face a quick and refreshing rinse then start for the tower as fast as your injured leg would let you.