The Tribrid

Astral Projection pt.1

Emily's POV
Over the next few days I visit with the people in the outer city. I express my concerns to them about the treatment of the vampires. I let them know, mistreatment of anyone will not be tolerated. Most of them just sort of gawked at me when I spoke. It's strange to be seen as this God-like being. I'm not a God I'm just a teenage werewolf who happens to be a witch and has a vampire father. Hopefully me going and talking to them in person inspired them to be more accepting of the vampires. They seemed to understand.
I met with some of the vampires one on one. I want to learn more about being a vampire. After all I am going to be a vampire one day. Most of them were a little stand-offish, I'm not sure if they trust me completely yet. There was one vampire girl who I remember very distinctly.
She had curly strawberry blonde hair, which leaned a little more blonde than strawberry. She was shorter than me. She couldn't have been any taller than 5 foot 4, and her name was Marigold. I'm not sure why but she reminded me so much of myself. I thought she was younger than me but she told me she is actually 48. Well her vampire age is 48. I'm not sure how old she was when she became a vampire. Hiroen described Marigold as a 'new' vampire. Apparently the first fifty years of a vampire's life they are considered a 'new'. New vampires are harder to control, as their emotions and feelings are heightened. They are driven more on instinct. But Marigold had a lot of insight on the vampires in the city. It was nice to have a girl to talk to for once. I haven't been around a girl my age in months. Well a girl that sort of acts my age. I hope Marigold and I will be good friends.
A week later I meet with Marcus for our morning training session. I head up to the balcony.
"Good morning E." Marcus says.
For the past few days I have been kind of in a shlump. I miss Carol, and my old simple uncomplicated life. And being cooped up in the mountain for so long is driving me bananas. I know people have noticed my moodiness, Marcus included.
Surprisingly enough Marcus and I actually become friends. It helps when you spend large amounts of time together, every day for months on end.
"Morning." I say grumpily.
"Well someone is a sour puss today. You better get in a better mood, or I won't tell you the good news." Marcus teases.
"Good news?" My interest is peaked.
"Nope, I'm not gonna say. You're in a bad mood."
"No I'm not. I'm happy. See!" I flash him a fake smile.
"I don't know." He squints at me. I smile wider.
"Oh alright. I thought of something magical that we could do."
"What?"
"You were saying you miss you cousin Carol and she was turning 18 today right?" He asks.
"Yeah, why?"
"We'll have you ever heard of astral projection?"
"No, what is that."
"Well, to make it less complicated. Your consciousness can travel through the astral plane and manifest a form. Basically, I can send your mind to your old pack and you can see and talk to Carol."
"Will I be able to interact with her?"
"Not physically, but yeah. It will be like you are there, but just not in a solid form."
"Are we allowed to do that?"
"Well that's tricky. Yes and no. Typically only certain kinds of witches can do this. It uses a lot of magic. But you have the ability to use all magic so we can set up a magic loop."
"But how would you send me to my pack, you don't know where it is."
"I don't, but you do. I'm just sending you to the astral plane. You are directing your own subconscious." He explains
"How long will I be able to be there?" I ask.
"As long as our magic holds. A few hours if you'd like. But the longer you are away from your body, the harder it is to come back. But having an anchor helps. I'm going to be your anchor."
"What's an anchor?"
"Someone or something that connects you to the physical world."
"Ok, how do we do this?" I ask.
"We need candles." Marcus gets up and circles me in candles. Marcus pulls out a knife.
"Woah. What is that for?" I ask.
"We need to creat a bond first for me to be your anchor. Through blood."
"Seriously?"
"Yup, give me your hand." I hesitate, but offer my hand. He takes it in his.
"It will only hurt for a moment." He says. He takes the knife and cuts my palm. I wince and shut my eyes. Once the initial pain has passed I open my eyes and see him cut his hand. Then he takes his cut hand and holds mine.
"How do I come back?" I ask before we get too into the spell.
"When you want to come back. Think about our hands and the cut. The pain will bring you back." He says.
"You ready?" He asks, I nod my head.
"Good. Now I want you to close your eyes and think about where you want to be. Think about your pack lands think about Carol and your bond with her." I close my eyes and do what he says. I think about my pack lands and the forests I've run through my whole life. I think about the lake and the river that runs through our land. I think about the Alpha house, my parents house, Carol's. I think about Carol. It's early, she's definitely still asleep. I see her! In bed asleep. I lean closer to her, suddenly her eyes shoot open and she screams. I jump back as she fights with her blanket and rolls to the floor on the opposite side of the bed. I laugh as she peeks over the bed.
"Emily?" Realization comes over her and she stands.
"What are you doing here? H-how did you get here?" She comes over to give me a hug, but she falls right through me. I laugh again.
"Are you a ghost?" She asks waving her hands through my form.
"No I'm not a ghost. And stop that. I'm doing something called astral projecting." I explain.
"Astral what?"
We hear someone coming to the door.
"Quick, in the closet." Carol says. I walk through the door of the closet as someone comes in the room
"Carol? Are you ok?" I hear her fathers voice ask.
"Yes I'm fine. I uh had a bad dream." She says.
"Well get dressed and come downstairs. Your mother wants to have a birthday breakfast before she goes to work." He says.
"Oh, and happy birthday my little one." He says.
"Thanks dad. I'll be down in a minute." She says. I hear the door close and I step out of the closet.
"Emily, I can't believe you are here. I have missed you so much. Things around here have changed since you left."
"Changed? Changed how?" I ask.
Carol starts getting ready. As she explains.
"After the Announcement, all hell broke loose. A group of people showed up, Alpha James said they were special guests. There were so many of them, they filled up the whole field." She says.
"Were they werewolves?"
"Yeah, I think so. They left three weeks ago. One night they just up and vanished. And that was a surprise because of how many there were. And no one has seen or heard from Alpha James or Luna Jackie since they left." Carol is dressed.
"Wow." Is all I can say, I still have so many questions.
"Hey, I need to go have this breakfast. Will you be here when I'm done?" She asks.
"Yeah. Have you seen my dad?" I ask.
"Yeah. But I don't know if it's a good idea for you to see him."
"Why?"
"He's changed since you guys left. He's taken over the pack. He should be in the Alpha's office." She tells me.
"Ok go have breakfast and I'll be back." I tell her. "Oh and Happy Birthday Carol!"
"Thanks Em. It's so good to see you." She says before heading out the door. I close my eyes and think about the Alpha house. All the memories I have in the house with Liam and Mike. I think about the Alpha's office and the door leading to it. I open my eyes and I'm standing in the hallway outside the Alpha's office. I listen for a moment to see if I hear voices. I take a deep breath and walk through the door. I see my father sitting behind the desk writing something. He hasn't noticed my presence yet. I clear my throat. His eyes flick up to me.
"Emily?" His voice was unsteady.