Page 24 of Catastrophe

I hope Baelen has found Charlie and that they are together. I hope Charlie hasn’t singed Baelen. I hope Charlie is back in human form.

We ate the takeout we bought on the way in silence, and after we finished, I started getting ready for bed while Elizabeth called her daughters. I listened to them talking on speaker as I brushed my teeth.

A soft Bristolian accent sounded through the phone. “Mum, why didn't you want to call earlier? We thought something else had happened.”

Elizabeth’s accent was more generalized, so I’d never thought about where she was from, but her daughter had an accent. Is that where they are from? Bristol? They were so close to Charlie, and yet he could never find them. My fingers tightened around my toothbrush as I huffed in anger.

“I’m safe, Gemma,” Elizabeth assured her daughter in a gentle tone. “Fafnir isn’t nearby, as far as we can tell, and nothing has happened. Although we now believe he and our defected family are working with hunters.”

“Well, I’m not surprised. We are all reporting an increase in hunter presence outside our areas. We weren’t sure if they knew something or if there just seemed to be more.”

“Everyone is seeing more hunters hovering around portals? Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Elizabeth snapped.

“When should we have told you that?” Gemma replied. “Between you jetting off to Sweden to see your long-lost son, becoming the temporary leader of the witches, and then getting knocked on your arse when hunters attacked your secret island?”

The sarcasm runs in the family.

“I appreciate that I’ve been otherwise engaged, but my priority is always going to be my duty to the portals’ protection.” Elizabeth started pacing past the bathroom door as I spat out toothpaste and began washing my face. “If the hunters suspect the location of the portals, then I should know. What about the shadow portal? Are they aware of that yet?”

“Doesn’t look like it. We knew there was a possibility of the others coming back to bite us. Now we know what we need to do.”

My ears pricked at that. They had a failsafe plan in case of the secret getting out?

Elizabeth stopped dead, and I saw her swallow something back. Probably a shout, because her voice was strained as she said, “You can’t do that alone. Just focus on protection until I can get more information.”

“Defense has always been the plan, but we need to make sure this knowledge doesn’t spread. It’s been the best-kept secret in all the realms, and it needs to stay that way.”

But why? Yes, Fafnir is too dangerous to allow to travel to other realms, but why can’t others freely travel?

The shadows trapped in the human realm could have gone to a more hospitable place, like Akar, if they had the option. The otherworlders are powerful compared to humans, but humans aren’t defenseless anymore. They can protect themselves if they are aware of dangers.

But supernaturals becoming known to humans would only lead to chaos, so maybe they have a point.

“Attacking is our last defense.” Elizabeth continued, “Stay vigilant, and keep me informed.”

“I will. Keep me informed of your incidents, too. Watch out for dragons. And hunters. Kayleigh says goodbye.”

“I’ll be fine. You’ll see. Love you. Look after each other.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

They signed off, and Elizabeth sagged onto her twin bed, the one closest to the door. I watched her from the bathroom door and fiddled with my pajamas as I contemplated all I had just heard.

“You look like you have something you want to say,” Elizabeth remarked as she stood up and began pulling her nightwear out of her bag.

“I don’t,” I replied quickly as I moved to sit on my bed.

“Clawdia, I’m too old for games. Tell me what you want to get off your chest, and then we can go to sleep and put this day behind us.”

I shook my head. “I’m just thinking about the future. Whether Charlie will get to meet his sisters.”

“All being well, and if his control is good enough, I’m sure he will.” She shrugged and didn’t look at me. Her voice was carefree, but the stiffness in her shoulders as she walked to the bathroom told another story.

“But you don’t believe that.”

She sighed, her hand resting on the door. “I can’t guarantee anything. I know you hope for him to return to being the man you love, but I’m afraid it might be too late for that.”

I knew what she thought. But hearing her say it out loud made me clench my jaw so tight that my teeth ached, and I swallowed back the instinctive angry shout that wanted to come out.

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