Death Is Coming

Chapter 1: Blair

I remember the first time I saw the border between the Mortal and Faye realms. It was a shimmering, ethereal line that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy. I was just a child, left there with no memory of how I got there. Elizabeth Rivers found me, her eyes as ancient and wise as the trees that surrounded us. She took me in without a word, sensing perhaps that my presence was an anomaly that fate had thrust upon her doorstep. That was eleven years ago.

Elizabeth was a truth seer, a rare gift even among the Faye. She could see people's futures with a clarity that was both a blessing and a curse. I often wondered what she saw when she looked at me. Did she see the girl I was, lost and scared? Or did she see the woman I would become, navigating the perilous line between two worlds?

Life with Elizabeth was a constant lesson in survival and subterfuge. It was forbidden for Mortals to live among the Faye for many reasons—reasons I could only begin to grasp. She taught me how to fit in, to blend seamlessly with the Faye despite my mortal heritage. Palm reading and tarot cards became my tools, skills any mortal could learn but few mastered as I did under Elizabeth's tutelage.

"Keep your ears covered, Blair," Elizabeth would remind me whenever we ventured into the village. My ears, round and unremarkable, were a dead giveaway that I did not belong. Most Faye had delicate, pointed ears that marked them as beings of magic and mystery. Some looked very much like Mortals, save for these small features—wings that fluttered like hummingbirds, or an ethereal beauty that seemed to glow from within. Others bore no resemblance to Mortals at all, their skin hues of green, purple, and many more colors, their features sharp and sometimes mixed with animal traits like tails or fuzzy ears atop their heads.

We had no idea how long the secret would last. The Faye don't age, not in the way that humans do. They can live for centuries, and I was already twenty-one. The more I aged, the more it would become apparent that I was mortal. Once I started getting gray hairs and becoming wrinkly—I couldn't think about that though, that was still a bit away.

Elizabeth and I lived on the edge of the village, in a small cottage surrounded by ancient oaks. The air was always filled with the scent of blooming flowers and the hum of magical energies. It was a place of tranquility, a sanctuary where I could almost forget the precariousness of my existence. Almost.

"Would you ever tell me about my future? what you see?" I asked, Elizabeth as she started cleaning up the shop ready to open it for customers to come in and get their palms read, they're tarot cards read to them or their futures read.

" I've told you many times blair, it changes it's never consistent it changes with every choice you make, and it isn't something I can just make myself see" she said and in a maternal voice that was soft and soothing, I was known as Blair Rivers her daughter and she had basically become my mother since the day she took me in.

Elizabeth's words always left me with a sense of both hope and dread. Hope because it meant that my future was not set in stone, and dread because it meant that any misstep could lead to disaster. I sighed and helped her arrange the colorful scarves and trinkets that adorned the shop, each one imbued with a touch of magic.

The first customer of the day was a regular, a young Faye woman named Lira who always came for a tarot reading. Lira was one of the few who had befriended me, though she never questioned my constant head coverings or my reluctance to join in the Faye's more magical activities.

"Good morning, Blair," Lira greeted me with a bright smile, her wings shimmering faintly in the morning light. "Is Elizabeth in?"

"Good morning, Lira," I replied, returning her smile. "She's just finishing up some preparations. She'll be with you in a moment."