Immortals Of Byolla Bay
Chapter 19 – Kinsley

To say I’m in a state of disbelief is an understatement. Having your whole way of thinking turned on its axis is a hard blow to the chest. I can’t wrap my head around it. The boy that I’m hopelessly falling for is an immortal Viking from another world who was trapped here by the creepy guy I met at the mall.

I’ve been calling Rikki an Adonis not realizing that I actually wasn’t that far off. I keep thinking they are going to say just kidding and laugh about how much naïve and gullible I am, but the sincerity in their eyes make any skepticism go out the window. I remembered that dream I had about Rikki on the long ship with the others dressed in 14th century clothes. I remembered thinking the Vikings were going to raid an unsuspecting village and that they were filthy savages, but Rikki and his family are the exact opposites. They are clean and well-groomed. Wow does our history have them wrong!

Then there is my ring. How does a ring from their time replace its way on my finger, or for that fact my grandma’s? I’ve grown up to believe that our universe was the only one, even though there is proof of other solar systems, and that supernatural do not exist. This is madness, but I cannot deny that it’s real.

Ty having a worn out leather bound book telling the origin of my ring could not be made up. I keep telling myself this is real over and over, but the logic portion of my brain is telling me to close my eyes and sleep. When I wake up this will all be a wild dream.

Speaking of dreams, I thought back to the one of Drake, or Drakkar as he is known. He was dressed in a black robe when he appeared before me. All I could see beneath the hood was his evil grin. Then he started to chant, “Du blir min ved valg eller force,” as he neared me. Then his hood fell away and I seen red and black dust particles surround him as he reached for me.

Next thing I knew I was on fire, but it didn’t hurt. It was the most wonderful burn I’d ever gotten my whole life. I heard a melodic voice calling my name, creating an invisible barrier between Drakkar and I. He could not come any closer to me. Drakkar growled, but retreated.

I was able to open my eyes and seen that Rikki was holding me, looking worried. It took me a few seconds to realize I had a nightmare, no it was more than that. It was real. That’s when I started sobbing uncontrollably and Rikki raced me to the study.

If my mind wasn’t blown already, it would have definitely exploded downstairs. Their real names were so beautifully strange that I understand completely why they went by more human sounding ones. Ty, Gene and Keri were going to research nonstop through their history to replace out how this ring ended up in my family.

The only thing they wanted Rikki, Maggie and I to do was get some sleep for school in the morning. How was I suppose to concentrate on school knowing my life will from here on out never be the same? Still, so the winter exams are important so I have to try. My education just don’t seem as important anymore compared to all this, though.

I felt fire spread throughout my body and my eyes shot open in a flash. Rikki was gently shaking me awake. His beautiful smile was all I could concentrate on at first, but then my groggy head focused and I remembered today was Friday and it was time to get up for school. “I hope you like eggs, bacon and biscuits because that’s what my mother fixed for you. She insisted on making breakfast and she made enough to feed a small army.” Rikki chuckled and I love hearing that sound.

I stretched and rolled out of Rikki’s bed. He held the door open for me and led me down the stairs. The smell of bacon grease and flour mixture hit me in the face as we rounded the corner to the kitchen. Ty had his arm around Keri and they were laughing about something. Gene and Maggie were leaning against the counter, both reading a book with a faded cover.

As I took in this picture I realized just how close and loving this family really is. They must have gone through pure hell just to survive and apparently it’s not over yet. Something stirred inside me and I vowed to myself that I would help them do whatever it took to get back to their world, even if it meant not seeing them ever again. I looked up at Rikki, who had walked over to Gene and Maggie, taking an obvious interest in whatever book they were reading. My heart physically hurt at the thought of never seeing them again, but I couldn’t stand knowing I could have done something to help and didn’t.

Ty seemed to finally notice me and nodded in the direction of the stove, “My wife decided to make breakfast for you. I’m proud of her, after all this time she still knows how to cook.” Keri smiled at the compliment, “Yes that’s true. I’m shocked I didn’t burn the biscuits and bacon. We don’t have to eat so I never have to use my kitchen. You being here gives me a reason to feel mortal again.”

The confusion must have been written on my face because Ty explained, “Since we were banished here by the magic of the Dark Oracle, it seems we were tainted by it somehow. In our world we lived extremely long lives, a man never died naturally until after his 1500th year normally. However, since we have been sent to this place our aging has halted. We’ve been here well over 500 years and nothing has changed. We’ve also been granted extraordinary speed, strength and the inability to get hungry. We only eat when we are around humans and need to keep up appearances. Whether Drakkar meant for us to acquire these things or they were completely accidental is beyond us. I guess we’ll never know, but I’m sure it was the former because Drakkar is not a nice person.”

Ty shrugged and Keri made me a plate then motioned to a chair beside the counter where Maggie and the boys were gathered around that book. I greedily gulped down the magnificent tasting eggs and chewed on the bacon. Man can Keri cook! “Father, I think we found it!” Gene exclaimed. Ty rushed to his side, “Are you sure?” He took the book and read whatever was in there silently.

He nodded to himself, then came to sit next to me, “I believe we found the link from our world to yours, and how that ring came to rest in your family.” He held up the book to where I could see what he was talking about. There was an illustration of a black headed woman dressed in battle gear. Her name was Astrid and there was a paragraph about her etched on the page in that same language of their other books.

“This is one of our neighboring clan’s daughters. Coincidentally she is the one who was entrusted to keep safe the ring of the four clans. She is seen wearing it here.” He points to her neck. Sure enough there is a necklace with my ring attached to it there.

“She was one of the many who stood up against Drakkar and was banished here before us. She fought in the Viking war that’s in your world’s history books and died along side her clan. It is said here that Astrid had a daughter who she passed the ring down to. She instructed that the ring must only be passed to the women in the generations to come until the time to use it and avenge our forefathers. Her daughter was sent away from the war so that the ring could be protected along with the family line. Astrid’s daughter is your ancestor, Kinsley. That is how this ring has come to your ownership. You said your grandmother passed it on to you, did she leave a message or any other information about it?”

I thought back to the message left in her will to me. “Yeah, she left me a vague message in her will. She said, ‘When it glows you will know. The time will be right when you see the light’. I never thought much about it until now.”

Ty rubbed his chin, “And you said it glowed when Drakkar was near and when your ring opened the door locked by Drakkar’s magic, correct?” My mouth dropped, “Yes. So it’s like a bad Viking detector and a bad magic reverser?” I asked. Keri chuckled, “I believe that’s correct, love.” I looked down at my ring.

“How did my grandma know this though? My mother technically should have been the one to get the ring first, not me according to that book.” Maggie, who had picked up the book to continue reading while we were talking looked up and said, “I think I can answer that. It says here the ring is imbued with the power to pick it’s person to be passed down to. If there is a family of more than one female child, the ring will light up around the one meant to have it. Maybe it didn’t glow with your mother because she was not meant to have it for some reason, just you, her daughter. It’s a liable possibility.”

That answer finally satisfied me. “Well if we don’t want to be late for school, I suggest we go. We can resume this afterwards. Kinsley doesn’t want to miss final exam reviews.” Rikki winked at me, and my heart fluttered.