The Beacon -Paul Lahote 2-

Chapter 12

Leanan Sidhe is an Irish myth that is closely related to Banshees. They are called demons by many myths. They prey on loneliness, mainly in men. Mavis read the printed web page over and over again. There was even less information about Leanan Sidhe than Banshees.

Mavis tried not to think about Claus's words too much. He said the woman, Melissa, was her mother. That wasn't possible. Her mother was dead. Her Aunt had killed her and her father. Melissa couldn't be her mother. Claus had to be wrong. Yet, there was genuine fear in his eyes when he explained what Melissa was. He begged Mavis not to let her in. She had no idea what he meant by that.

Mavis had no idea what to do or if she should tell her family. Alice did not like talking about what happened that night. The vampire believed that Mavis was her daughter, and none of the rest mattered anymore.

Whatever happened that night, Mavis needed to figure out. She needed to find this person. It was also becoming clear that this wasn't in her head. This was real. She wasn't crazy. The problem was, nobody believed her.

"Mavis," Paul says. There is no response. She's reading something, but her right hand is writing frantically. He squints, slightly confused. "Hey, Mave." No response. He pushes off the ground. "Hey," Paul wrapped his arm over the front of her body. "What are you doing?"

She stops writing instantly, "reading. What are you doing?"

He shrugged, sitting beside her. "You want to do something?"

"Maybe later," her focus was elsewhere. "I'm busy." Paul frowned his grip loosening slightly. "I thought you were supposed to meet the others?"

"I was," he sounded like a child. "I just wanted to spend time with you." She glances at him, smiling faintly. "What are you reading?" He tries to see the paper, but she moves it away from him. That catches his attention. "Is it a secret?"

"It's Biology," she responds. "And you'll ruin it." He went to argue but never had the chance. "Remember when you accidentally dropped my English essay in the fire?"

Paul shrugs, "it was an accident."

Mavis chuckles, "sure." He lets go and he watches Mavis. She's usually not this distracted with school work. Realization soon washes through him. Mavis isn't in Biology this year. She's taking Chemistry. Mavis lied to him, but he doesn't understand why. It seemed like such a simple thing to lie about.

"Hey," he says. "Are you okay?"

She doesn't look up, "fine."

Paul raises an eyebrow. Ever since prom, he had been on edge. There was something different about Mavis now. The last few weeks she had been on edge. Everything set her off, and she was seeing things constantly. Now, that had all changed. She wasn't scared or nervous anymore. She was like an entirely different person. "Are you sure?"

Mavis finally looks up at him, "last time I checked." That doesn't help him. Mavis realizes something is bothering him. "Are you okay?" He wants to ask her but doesn't. Something tells him not to. "Paul?"

"I was thinking about what you said," he begins. "About us living together after school." The change in conversation captures her attention, and he smiles at his secret victory. "How do you feel about Oregon?"

Mavis stares at him for a moment, "you're thinking about it?"

Her hand nudges the paper closer, but he doesn't look at it. "Honestly. I've been thinking about it for months." Mavis grins, setting the papers to the side. "I like to think about our future. Plan what we can." Of course, Mavis was still seventeen. She technically couldn't leave until December, but right now, that didn't matter. "Leave when we can."