Chasing Aurora
Chapter 26

I stood there quietly, barely listening to the conversation around me. I could straight out ask them if they had any dealings with witches or fae, or I could just go on with my life. Although, not knowing is going to drive me crazy. Fuck it.

“Okay, sorry, this is bugging me.” I interrupted causing everyone to look at me in interest, “If this sounds crazy, please ignore me, but Ariel, have you been around... uh... supernatural forces. Something to do with your heart?”

Ariel’s face went through a lot of emotions in the next couple of seconds. There was surprise, fear, alarm, curiosity all painted clear on her face. Her hand went to her chest, fingers touching a patch of skin that was a hair lighter than her already milky skin. “How did you- what?”

Alright, not immediately dismissing me. Fuck it, I’m rolling with it. My fae senses were tingling and they were pointing straight at some miracles, “I’m guessing you were hurt pretty bad, particularly around your heart and your spine. I’m guessing you got better quicker than you should have. Probably part of the reason the doctors can’t figure out why you can suddenly speak?”

“Oh.” Ella interrupted looking over at Ariel, “I can’t believe I missed it. Do you have some witch friends that healed you?”

“Um, no.” Ariel looked up at Erika. The two of them seemed to speak without words before Ariel turned back to me, “If I were to say a demon was involved what would you say?”

“Huh. That’s a new one.” I said.

“Maybe, we should go somewhere a bit less populated for this conversation?” Ella suggested. I suddenly realized we were surrounded by people. Oops.

We all followed Ella out of the ballroom into a bathroom. I began going from stall to stall making sure that no one was in there while Ella locked the door. Once I had determined that the room was empty, I walked back to them. “Alright, so how the fuck are you guys involved in all this craziness?” Erika asked.

“Well, those two are witches and I’m a part fae being called a Guardian,” I said gesturing over to Andy and Ella.

“You didn’t think to mention this when we were kids?” Erika asked.

“I didn’t know. I only found out after Aurora and I were kidnapped by a dark fae. Aurora’s aunts broke me out, told me that I was a Guardian, I went to France to replace Aurora, got knighted by the Prince of the Fae and then fought the dark fae and killed her.” I said figuring that would get most of the questions out of the way, “Oh and she could turn into a dragon. That’s when she fucked up my face.”

Everyone in the room just stared at me. Aurora just burst out laughing, “You are totally underplaying the past month!”

“I’m just giving them the CliffsNotes. We can go over the details later.” I said, “So how did you guys get involved with demons?”

“I was in an accident that would have left me paralyzed when I was thirteen.” Ariel said, “A demon found me, offered a trade. My soul for my legs. I said no but then she offered me another deal, a way I could keep my soul and the use of my legs. I had fifteen years to receive true love’s kiss. As collateral, she took my voice until I received that kiss.”

“Well shit.” Ella said her eyes wide, “That would explain the stitching.”

“What stitching?” Ariel asked.

“So, everyone has a thing called an aura around them.” Ella explained, “They’re all different and unique to the person. It can tell you a lot about a person. Strong magical beings, like Piper and myself, can see auras easily but most everyone can be taught to see them. Strong magic tends to leave its marks on a person. With demonic or evil magic, we would expect to see black marks on the aura. So the stitching we can see around your body where the demon healed you should be black.”

“Should be black? Does that mean there isn’t black?” Erika asked.

“No. The stitches look to be gold, which usually comes from beings that are both powerful and good. My theory is probably because you are such a genuine person, your soul changed the colour. True acts of kindness and bravery can have dramatic influences on a person’s soul.” Ella explained.

Erika and Ariel looked at each other as they processed what Ella had said. I didn’t rush them, I instead found my eyes looking over at Aurora. If what Ella had said about auras and dark magic was true, there should be lingering traces of Maleficent’s curse on her. I found myself searching for any traces of black on her. Even before I unfocused my eyes, I knew that I would replace none. Aurora had the kindest heart I knew. Her sunshine was a beacon that chased away any darkness that dared come near her.

“Okay, so I have a question.” Aurora said, breaking through the silence, “As a group, we have had run-ins with witches, demons and fae. What else is out there that we have no idea about?”

“More than you would think.” Andy answered, “There are werewolves, but they prefer to stick to small towns and rural areas. Vampires are very uncommon in this area. Ghosts are fairly common, but most just stick to where they died. There’s probably more, with immigration a few non-human creatures come with them, but most non-human creatures tend to stay in areas that are suited to them.”

I leaned against the sinks as I took in what Andy said. It kind of washed over me as I realized that we were not alone. Like, yeah witches and fae I could deal with. Werewolves, vampires and demons were a whole other story. We couldn’t be the only ones affected by this. I looked over at Aurora. What if she was kidnapped before we had come into each other’s lives? Who could have helped her?

“You said you were helping people out. Is that from all kinds of supernatural creatures or just curses?” I asked.

“All we’ve been able to help are people affected by witches.” Ella admitted, “It’s so hard to replace people who really need us because no one believes we’re out there. Most people who make claims are dismissed as crazy people.”

“We’ll just have to work that much harder to come up with something.” I felt Aurora’s hand take mine and squeezing it. I looked down at her beautiful smiling face. She didn’t need to say a word. I understood what she wanted to say. She was with me on whatever I decided to do.

“Well, I’m not sure what help we’ll be, but consider us in on whatever you guys are planning,” Erika said and with that, an accord was struck in that hotel bathroom. An understanding between six women with a common purpose. To replace and help people that were affected by the supernatural creatures of the world.

When we went back to the party, the room looked different. I was lying to myself when I said that I had stepped out of my role as a Guardian. I couldn’t. It was ingrained in my DNA to want to help. The sooner I accepted that I couldn’t sit on the sidelines, the better.

I pulled Aurora out to the dancefloor. I held her close to me as we moved to the slow music. I leaned down so I could whisper in her ear, “Are you okay with everything that happened in the bathroom?”

“Yes. You seem to forget that I know you better than most.” Aurora pulled back so her electric green eyes met mine, “You were made to be a hero. I’m surprised you waited this long before replaceing a new mission.”

“But if you don’t want me to do this, I won’t.”

“I know, but I also know that you are going to great things. I’m also going to be right beside you through it all. I may not have magic powers, but I will do what I can.”

My lips turned up in a smile. She was my dream girl. Instead of trying to talk me out of doing crazy shit, she’s going to be right there beside me.