Fighting For Survival

Chapter 6

"That's impossible." She whispered. I sighed, looking at Diana. It felt that everything that I had once thought was impossible was now possible.
"The goddess wouldn't lie Diana." Getting up, I went for more coffee.
"How is this even possible?" Diana whispered. I shrugged.
"I don't know. If it is true, I need to find my mother." I felt a sharp stab in my chest. I had thought my mother was dead all this time. Diana had started muttering in a language I wasn't familiar with and started pacing, deep in thought. I watched, sipping my coffee. I couldn't move forward without Diana. I needed her guidance. After what seemed like an eternity of her pacing and me thinking she would wear a hole through the floor. She stopped, her eyes snapped towards the door. I was just about to ask her what was wrong when there was a knock. From the look of Diana's face, she wasn't expecting anyone. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. There was another knock, and I jumped. Diana raced towards the door with her eyes glowing golden. I followed, keeping my distance. Diana breathed before opening the door, and a bright glow appeared. There was a commotion as she pushed through the door. Stepping up my pace, I could hear cussing. At the door, I saw Diana standing on the defence against someone who was balled up by the gate, struggling to get up. As I stepped on the porch, the wood creaked and Diana's eyes flashed to mine.
"Get inside Morgan. It's not safe." I took a step backwards, but I didn't fully retreat inside. I wanted to know who the intruder was.
"How did you find me vampire?" Diana hissed towards the figure. My blood ran cold. Diana had told me she had magic wards surrounding her property from other supernaturals. He shouldn't have been able to get past them. The figure groaned and sat up, glaring at her.
"That was very rude witch." He growled, pulling himself to his feet. He dusted himself down and stepped forward. I blinked, and he was on his back, groaning again.
"Don't come any closer vampire. The next time, you won't get back up. Now, answer my question. How did you find me?" Grunting, the man pulled himself back into a sitting position and grinned at Diana. He was wearing a dark hood covering his face. His voice sounded familiar, and I couldn't find the place where I had heard it. He had his hands up in surrender as he once again stood.
"I am not here to harm you witch." He sounded calm and collected.
"Then why are you here? I also won't ask again vampire, how did you find me?" Diana's hands glowed again, matching her eyes fixed on the man.
"I am here for Morgan. Her mother sent me." I frowned as he pulled down his hood.
"Ben! What are you doing here?" I demanded, and Diana glanced at me, confused.
"You know this vampire?" She hissed. I shrugged and stepped out fully onto the porch.
"Yes. He was the guy I told you about who said my mother was alive before I came to see you." He was then flat on his back, groaning and writhing in pain. Diana stormed forward and hovered over him, glaring.
"Diana! What are you doing?" I yelled, running down the porch steps towards them.
"Is it true?" She hissed. Ben just groaned.
"Answer me!" She demanded, her hands glowing brighter. Ben rolled onto his side, panting.
"It's true!" He cried out. Diana's eyes narrowed.
"You're lying! Freya is dead! I felt her die!" I grabbed Diana's arm.
"Diana! You're gonna kill him!" I pulled again, but she was strong and focused on Ben.
"She knew you wouldn't believe me. She gave me this." Ben struggled to reach into his coat pocket, sweating and panting. He pulled out a ring and dropped it to the floor. The magic evaporated, and Diana's eyes were fixed on the ring. Ben moaned and stayed flat on his back, trying to catch his breath. She leaned down and picked up the ring, examining it closer.
"Where did you get this?" She whispered. I stepped forward and saw a beautiful gold ring with a ruby stone. Diamonds were placed on either side. The band was intricately designed with swirling patterns. It was beautiful.
"Freya gave it to me. She said you would recognise it and believe me." Ben grunted, throwing an arm across his face.
"Whose is it?" I asked, and Diana smiled.
"It's Freya's. I gave this to her just before she ran away as a parting gift. I enchanted it with a cloaking spell to help her as she travelled." I looked at the ring.
"What does this mean?" I couldn't help but hope. Diana's eyes glistened with tears as she held the ring close to her chest.
"When I identified your parent's body, I looked for the ring, but it wasn't there. I assumed your mother had removed it and didn't need it anymore. I can feel her when I touch this. It's faint, but it's there. I can feel her energy."

"You still haven't told me how you found me." Diana handed Ben a mug of tea to face him on the opposite sofa. He shrugged. "Wasn't that hard. I went to see Chow." I groaned and slapped a hand on my face. I should have known. Chow could never keep his mouth shut. Pursing her lips, Diana set her mug down. "How is this even possible? I'm still not sure I believe you." She accused. Ben raised an eyebrow. "I gave you the ring. You felt it for yourself. You felt her energy." She shook her head. "I felt the oath break." She shot back and he nodded. "She knew you would say that. The moon goddess came to her in a dream and gave her a spell to fake her death. She had to go into hiding as the hunters were getting too close. The goddess gave her another spell to bind Morgan's powers and conceal her identity to shield her from our world. Freya knew that if she stayed with Morgan, they all would be dead." I sucked in a breath struggling to process his words. "What about my dad?" He gave a sad smile. "Freya faked his death too and they continued to move around. A few years after they settled down someplace, your father went on a grocery run and ran into some hunters. They couldn't recognise his true scent as your mother used enchantments to conceal it, but they still could smell magic on him. He didn't make it. I'm sorry." The tears fell silently. I would never get to meet my father again. He was gone. I stood up and went to look out the window. I rested my head against the cool pane of glass and wished for his peace. "What about Freya?" Diana whispered. "When John didn't return, she went out to find him. It was too late to save him. Freya knew the hunters would be close, so she had to leave him and run. One of her biggest regrets was leaving John there." Diana signed. "Such a shame. John was a great man. How did you meet Freya?" Ben shuffled in his seat. I turned to look and see he looked uncomfortable. "She saved my ass. I was hunting in the woods when I fell into a silver trap. I was trying to escape when she heard my cries for help. Freya was staying in a cabin a few miles away and came to investigate. She was trying to free me when the hunters returned. Freya single-handedly took down four vampire hunters and two werewolves. Even though she was wounded pretty badly, she still came to my rescue. She freed me and led me to her cabin. Freya passed out when we got to the cabin, so I took care of her to repay my debt. When she came to, and I properly saw her eyes, I knew who she was. She begged me not to tell anyone and told her story. After she had finished, I thought I owed it to her to keep her secret safe. I would keep tabs on her after we parted ways and checked in, but a few months ago, she contacted me asking for my help." I sat back down on the couch next to Diana, who put her arm around me and began rubbing my arm. I hadn't realised that I was shivering. I suddenly became very cold. She grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa and put it around my shoulders. I gave her a small smile. "What did Freya need help with?" Diana asked. Ben leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "She needed help to find Morgan." I raised an eyebrow. "Why would she need help looking for me?" "When your magic and identity were concealed, it was also from your mother. It was one of the spell conditions, so she couldn't check on you and put you at risk. She had no idea if you were even alive. She needed someone else to track you down. She said she had a dream from the moon goddess informing her it was time to find you." I gasped. She didn't even know if I was alive. She was just as in the dark as I was. Diana was nodding and tightened her arm around me. "That would make sense. A spell that powerful would have conditions set." Ben also nodded. He then turned to me and grinned. "Ready to see your mom again?" I blinked. Was I ready? My mother had been alive, and I would soon meet her again. I gulped and gripped the blanket around me tighter. Ben's smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown. He was about to say something when Diana cut him off. "You need to give her time. She has believed for years that her parents were dead, and you come along and drop a bomb that her mother is still alive. Give her a chance to adjust." He pursed his lips and nodded. I shivered again and could feel my temperature rising. I threw off the blanket and stood up but was hit by a wave of dizziness. I swayed, and a strong hand grabbed my arm before I could lose balance. I looked up to see Ben frowning at me. "Are you alright Morgan?" I nodded. The dizziness disappeared, as did the heat, and I felt fine. Strange. Diana also stood up and put a hand on my shoulder. "You sure you're alright?" I nodded. "Yeah, just tired. It's all a bit overwhelming to be honest. I think I am going to have a lie-down." Diana gave me a small smile and released my shoulder. "I will talk with Ben some more about finding Freya." I gave another nod and headed up the stairs to my bed. I felt the darkness take over when my head hit the pillow.