Conflicted: Keegan's Chronicles

  Jennifer nodded. “Yes. His name was Patrick. As a spirit walker, his body absorbed the spirits he took over to the other side. He was unable to protect himself from it because he was never taught to shield himself, or at least that is what we liked to believe.” Her mother’s eyes darkened. “Some wondered if he let his guard down on purpose because he enjoyed the power of absorbing souls. One man with thousands of souls. You can imagine all the demons that came along with that. It was feared he was going mad. He started acting irrational. His mind shattered and he became a deranged lunatic that could no longer live among the humans. It was like the souls spoke through him, comparable to someone with split personalities. Of course your great-grandmother, Grace, loved him very much and it killed her to see him fall apart. She tried every spell she could think of and nothing worked. She searched near and far to find a cure.” Jennifer flipped a couple pages to show Anna a picture of a vibrant, beautiful young woman in a long black dress. She looked just like Jennifer.

  Her mother stopped and looked out the small kitchen window, her eyes distant, before she continued. “She heard about a dark witch that could help her. Light and dark witches do not communicate with each other. So Grace cast a spell on herself to appear as if she were a young dark witch. She begged the dark witch to teach her the ways of the dark. The witch was so impressed with your great-grandmother’s skills at such a young age that she took her under her wing."

  She leaned over and grabbed Anna's hand. "I know this is a lot to take in."

  "Just finish the story mom." Anna pulled her hand away.

  "She was gone for years and when she returned, Patrick was dead. She went berserk and cursed the light. She swore never to return, and she remained a dark witch until her death. The unfortunate part is that she passed on her skills to me. I was not told of her story until after she passed away. A kind, light witch took care of me until I was of age. She taught me the beauty of the light.”

  Anna sat with her mouth open and stared dumbfounded at her mom. “You should have told me. How could you have kept this from me all these years?”

  “What good would that have done? I’m not a witch. I’m a spirit walker.”

  Anna glared at her. “All of these years you’ve left me on my own to deal with my power. You have given me no guidance.” She pushed back from the table and crossed her arms.

  Her mother’s anger filled the room, though she tried to hold it in. “What did you expect me to do? Teach my daughter black magic?”

  “Well, no, but it would have been nice to have known about all of this.” Anna shifted in her chair. “Mom, I need to learn about my powers. I’m almost eighteen and this is crazy. I don’t know what you are trying to shield me from. Avoiding it is not going to make me human.”

  Jennifer’s face was pained. She looked away, but not before Anna saw the tears gathered in her mother’s eyes. “I’m sorry Anna, I know I have not been fair to you and my reasons have been purely selfish. I had hoped you were going to be a normal human. I thought maybe since your father was human…”

  “We’ve known for years that I am not normal, as you say.” There was a lot more bitterness in her words than she meant.

  “We’ll sort this out, Anna. I’m sorry and you are right. You need someone to guide you in your abilities.”

  There was an awkward pause while the two of them stared across the open album at each other.

  “Mother, the real reason I wanted to talk to you is because of Keegan.” Anna clasped her hands together on the table and stared down at her chipped blue nail polish. “When you brought her back, you took away her bond to her chosen.”

  “I know, and there is nothing I can do about that.”

  She searched her mom’s face and said, “Are you sure? If you can take something away, there must be away to give it back?”

  “Anna, I’m sorry. Dark magic is not known for its kindness. The loss of her bond is a small price to pay for her life. She will be fine.” Jennifer took a sip of her juice and remained calm and collected.

  “Sure, just like you are fine? Look how great your marriage has worked out for you. Elves are the only ones that have this secret way of finding their perfect match. Do you think it’s fair to take away Keegan's chance at happiness?”

  Her mom stared with intensity at her fingers and avoided her daughter’s gaze. “Anna, I am unable to help her. I wish I could.” She looked up; her soft brown eyes caught her daughter’s. “However, there might be someone that can. The light witch that took me in has since passed to the other side. She does have a daughter, Magdelena, who happens to be an extremely powerful witch. She might know of a spell that could reverse the damage I caused to the bond.”

  Anna breathed a little easier. She closed her eyes and allowed herself a bit of hope that she could help her best friend. Not only might she be able to help Keegan but she was finally going to meet a light witch. Perhaps the woman would give her the guidance she had ached for.

  “Where does she live?”

  Jennifer frowned. “Well, that is the tricky part—I am not sure. It might take me a while to track her down. I will make inquiries right away. Anna, don't get your hopes up. It’s likely what I did is not reversible. Please don’t tell Keegan and give her false hope. She needs to accept the fact that it may never return. It would be cruel to make her think otherwise unless you had concrete information.”

  “I won’t say anything to Keegan.” Anna looked over at her mom. “I’m glad this is all out in the open now. I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to begin. I have to say it’s kinda cool that my mom knows black magic.”

  “As much as I’ve wanted you to think I’m cool over the years, this is not the way I wanted it to happen.” Her mother raised an eyebrow at her daughter. “Black magic can be very dangerous, Anna.”

  “I know, Mom. I don’t want to learn black magic. I want to learn the ways of the light witch. I want you to be proud of me.” Anna was kind of embarrassed to admit it.

  “Honey, I have always been proud of you.”

  Anna smiled, relieved. She went on, “You seem to be happier lately. Are you and dad doing better? I haven’t heard you fight in a while.”

  “No, actually, we are not. I just feel better about myself and have realized I don’t need to be married to be happy. Keegan’s mother gave me a healing and I feel like my old self again. It’s such a wonderful feeling.” Jennifer reached across the table to touch Anna’s hand. “Honey, there is something you need to know.”

  “What?”

  “Your father and I will be filing for divorce soon.”

  Anna took her hand away from her mom’s and crossed her arms across her chest, her heart pounded. “That sucks, Mom.”

  “I’m sorry, Anna. I have tried.”

  “I know you have,” Anna sighed. She rested her elbows on the table and put her face in her hands. “I’ve been expecting you guys to divorce for years. I wish dad wasn’t such a jerk to you.”

  “It’s not really his fault. It’s not easy for humans to be involved with the gifted.”

  “That’s a lame excuse. Why do you stick up for him all the time?” Anna looked up with a glare and let her palms rest on the tabletop.

  “He’s your father and I will always love him,” Jennifer said. She shrugged. “Speaking of humans, any progress with Xavier?”

  “Nice job on the subject switch. There hasn’t been any progress. He just doesn’t see me as anything more than a friend. I think he’s interested in a cheerleader at school.” Anna’s lower lip jutted out in a pout.

  “I’m sorry, honey. I know you care about him. Maybe you should start dating someone.”

  “Sure, the guys are knocking down my door.” Anna rolled her eyes at her mom.

  “Why wouldn’t they be? You are beautiful, intelligent and original.”

  “It’s the last one. Not all guys are into chicks that change their hair color at the drop of the hat and don’t conform to society.” Anna pushed her
recently dyed pink fringe behind her ear.

  “Well, it’s their loss.” Jennifer gave her a beautiful grin.

  “Of course, you aren’t biased or anything,” Anna joked, taking a sip of her juice. It was some kind of grape juice and it had gotten warm while they talked.

  “Of course not. Do you want something to eat?” Her mom stood and moved to the fridge, opened the door and bent down to shuffle through its contents.

  “Sure, what are you making?”

  “How about a grilled cheese sandwich?”

  “Ah, yeah! How could I turn that down?”

  Jennifer was silent as she pulled out the cheese, bread, and butter. She put the skillet on the burner and turned it on and said, “Anna, I’m glad we had this talk. I hope Magdelena can help her get the bond back. Keegan does deserve to be happy. Although, I think she can find happiness without the bond.”

  “It’s worth looking into,” Anna replied. “I feel kinda responsible since my mother is the one that broke the bond.”

  “Don’t forget I also saved her life.”

  Anna watched her mom butter two slices of bread and slice the cheese, before tossing the sandwich in the skillet. She told her mother, “I can’t imagine life without Keegan. It still doesn’t seem real that she died. It’s just so bizarre. Thank you for bringing her back.”

  “I’m glad I was able to help. Keegan is a good girl.”

  When her grilled cheese was done, Jennifer placed it in front of her and they chatted about school while Anna finished off the sandwich.

  On the table at her elbow, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Calvron. Time to play.

  “Thanks for the food and the talk mom. I’m excited to meet Magdelena. I’m going to go hang out with the guys.”

  Jennifer waved her off. “All right, well have fun, and I will let you know as soon as I hear anything. We’ll talk more about this later.”

  Anna grabbed her phone, ran up to her room to change and replied to his text: Can Keegan come?

  Of course

  K, see you soon

  She sent a quick text to Keegan, On my way over, we’re going on an adventure.

  Chapter 5

  An adventure? Keegan loved surprises.

  She got up from the couch where she’d sat and flipped through all the television channels and ran upstairs to change.

  Adventures usually required sneakers. Keegan grabbed her Puma trail shoes and threw on a pair of jeans along with a band tee. She picked out a hoodie too since she was always cold. She didn’t bother with make-up.

  She ran down the stairs and yelled to her parents, “Going out with Anna!"

  When she opened the door, Anna’s old, rusty Buick pulled into the driveway. Keegan yanked open the door and said, “Good timing!” She jumped in the car and excitedly asked “So, where are we going?”

  “Right now we are going to get Lauren, and after that you will officially be invited into the club.” Anna had her pink hair tucked under a lacy white beret and wore an electric red cardigan sweater with black skinny jeans that had glittery hearts on one leg. She signaled when she turned out of the long, gravel driveway that led back to Keegan’s house and took a left onto the main road.

  Keegan glanced over at her profile. “What club?”

  “We call it the ABC club,” Anna flashed a grin, “Amazingly Beautiful Creatures”.

  They had a club and she wasn’t aware of it? How could they keep all these secrets from her? Keegan’s anger built; she noticed this happened a lot more lately. When she started to get mad, her body felt colder. She tried to think happy thoughts right away, which warmed her back up. Keegan reminded herself that at least she was invited now, and she was curious to see what it was all about. She didn’t respond, and instead turned to stare out the window at the passing scenery.

  Lauren was in her driveway when they entered. She looked like a star as usual. Her Hollister sweater was pale peach and form fitting and her khaki corduroys were perfectly pressed over her leather slip-on shoes. She slid into the backseat with a bright greeting.

  They headed out of town down a windy, two-lane road beneath a bright and clear autumn sky. In the distance, Keegan watched the Appalachians draw nearer, a never-ending sea of fiery, rolling hills. Every so often, her family would pack a lunch and drive to the mountains to hike for the day. The Appalachians always felt so magical and surreal, standing like soldiers over their town.

  Anna turned into a hidden drive in a grove of trees and the car crunched down a long unpaved road for several minutes. After some time, they pulled over into a large clearing, and Keegan noticed Spencer’s truck along with Calvron's red mustang. There were also several others that she didn’t recognize.

  They stumbled down the rocks of a small hill. “Where are we going?” Keegan asked. Anna and Lauren just laughed but didn’t answer. They came to the bottom where Keegan was entranced to find a wooden door that stood on its own in the grass.

  “Keegan, open the door!” Lauren yelled and shooed her toward the door with her hand.

  Fascinated, Keegan peered around the wooden frame. There was nothing but more grass and woods behind it. She circled around it and then turned back to her friends with a puzzled look on her face.

  “Just open it,” Anna giggled.

  Keegan grabbed the handle and yanked the door open.

  What she saw left her speechless.

  It looked like a magical wonderland. It was like she’d stepped onto the page of a make-believe land in a novel or a movie. Yeah, that’s what it was like: walking into the movie Avatar. Everything was bright and cheerful. The plants and the flowers were lush and exotic, while the trees soared high over her head and the distant patter of rain on the canopy met her ears.

  Lauren put her hands on Keegan’s back and gave her a shove. “Yeah, yeah it’s magical, just get in there.”

  Anna stepped through with Keegan and nudged her shoulder, “I told you Calvron was amazing.”

  Keegan turned wide eyes to Anna, her mouth open. “He did this?”

  “Yep,” Anna nodded. Her incredible bright green eyes surveyed the landscape. “He can create a whole alternate world. We come here to play and be ourselves.” She gestured around them.

  Keegan looked closer to where Anna indicated and could see there were several different magical creatures already there with them. Of course, you couldn’t miss the three huge, beautiful cats that sauntered their way. She laughed when they rubbed up against her legs like they were pets and she could have sworn the tiger was purring. That would, of course, be Donald. She reached down and rubbed behind his ears, catching his big eyes with her own while he leaned his soft face into her hands.

  Keegan watched Spencer in his panther form. His green eyes were shocking next to his black fur. And Sam, even as a lion, was the most beautiful of the group. They nudged against Lauren and Anna playfully, and tried to get them moving. “One minute, let her take it all in, we don’t have to start right away,” Lauren chuckled to Sam while she ran her hands through his lion’s mane.

  The big cats lay down and stretched out lazily and Spencer and Sam batted at each other with their giant paws. Lauren’s wings unfurled behind her and Keegan reached out to touch one of the stars that danced around them, but her finger went right through it.

  She glanced over at Anna and thought, Wow. Both of her best friends were so beautiful, there was no doubt about that. Calvron’s magical land only seemed to enhance their beauty, just like the flowers and the rest of their surroundings. Anna's eyes were always a startling color of green, but they were even more so here, almost a match for the vivid green color of the foliage. It was as if she were staring into emerald jewels instead of eyes. Everything about them was different. They almost looked like animated versions of themselves, their eyes larger and skin aglow.

  Neither of them wore their regular clothes any longer, either. Lauren wore a sparkly dress that fell in pretty pink strips to her knees, while Anna wore a satin black sheath with
bell sleeves.

  Keegan couldn't help but wonder what she looked like. Too bad there wasn’t a mirror around. She looked down, surprised to find that she wasn’t in her jeans and t-shirt anymore. Her dress was an ankle length green affair with a form fitting bodice and a flowing skirt. She smiled.

  They looked awesome.

  ***

  Donald wasn’t sure he could handle this.

  Seeing Keegan always left him in awe of her beauty, no matter where they happened to be. In this magical world with her beauty enhanced to its fullest potential, being near her was almost too much to bear.

  He tried not to stare, but it was like he could sense her everywhere. Whenever he turned to find her, he couldn’t help but get lost in her, only shaking himself out of his daydreams when he realized she was looking back. He battled with himself not to watch her every move.

  The excitement was written all over her face, and it seemed hard for her to sit still whiles she flitted from flower to tree to rock and touched everything. With the background of the forest and her auburn hair over that long, green dress, Donald thought she looked like a nymph of autumn. She was magnificent.

  Donald rose to all fours and gave his head a good shake. He circled around Keegan and wrapped his tail around her leg trying to tug her forward. A loud roar escaped from deep within him and he took off running. He heard Keegan laugh as she chased after him down to the water.

  Submerging his powerful body under the water felt wonderful. It was the perfect temperature, like a warm bath. Keegan made it to the edge of the lake, a little out of breath after chasing him. She had a mischievous grin on her face when she saw him in the water. “Is it deep enough to dive?” Keegan yelled, her hands on her hips.

  The tiger nodded his head yes, and she dove in, graceful, like a dolphin. His heart raced. Just the sight of her had such an effect on him.

  Keegan’s arms splashed gently through the water while she swam up to the tiger. “It is freezing.”

  Donald treaded water with all four legs. “You’re crazy. This water is warm,” he answered.