Behind |First book in The Risen Saga|

Chapter nine

I woke up to banging on the closet door. My back hurt and I started when I noticed that I was tangled in Tyson's arms. I awkwardly untangled myself - making sure not to wake him - and undone the knot that was wrapped around the closet handles and opened it to a stern face of my moms. She had her hands on her hips and she was throwing daggers with her eyes when she caught sight of Tyson behind me. "Why are you in my closet?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"I just wanted to... live in the past for tonight." I gave her a shy grin and she shook her head and glanced at Tyson, still curled in the blankets.

"Why is he here?" I sighed and got up. I stretched, hearing the audible popping of my joints. It was time to tell my mom what had happened. I just didn't know what she would think of all of it. If she would think I was crazy and send me away to live in a room with nothing but a mattress and padded walls. Or if she would react like Tyson did; understanding. When I turned around and closed the closet door my mom asked, "What is it?" when I turned back to her, her expression was concerned instead of anger. My mom knew me better than anyone.

"I need to talk to you." I began and when she turned to sit down I added, "Alone." she glanced at the closet and then back at me.

"Okay. Let's go in the kitchen then." She turned, opened the door and walked into the hallway. After a slight hesitation, I followed.

She sat on a stool on one side of the island, the side facing the living room. I went around and sat on a stool across from her, clasping my hands in front of me.

"Is something wrong with Tyson?" I gave a hysterical laugh and sighed.

"Yeah, I guess so. I know he'll be okay but something is wrong with him." I started with the day I found the necklace and ended with yesterday. I didn't leave a detail out but I felt like I should have left out some details on how Tyson had to become a lycanthrope. I knew my mom was squeamish.

When I was done a long silence followed. An awkward long silence, where my mom twirled her hair on her finger and her eyes darted around, anywhere but me. She only did that when she was nervous, I had good reason to know. She sighed and jammed the heels of here palms in her eyes. "I can't- I swore." She whispered.

"Mom?" She looked up at me and her eyes glittered with tears.

"I'm sorry. I swore not to get involved again. With the Hidden World. I swore on my life to do anything to stay away from it. Even if it meant giving up you"

"Mom" I said again. My mind went back to when Tyson showed up and the story he told. How he ended up at my house. "Mom, tell me what you know." my voice was quiet but stern and demanding. She gave a low whimper and and muttered something under her breath and then shook her head jerkily.

"I was young - about your age - and I started experiencing shocks in my head and when I drove places it would get worse or it would get better. I learned that at different parts of town it would be different so I followed to where it hurt less. It was downtown at a small house." She sniffled and then continued. "There was a warlock there - a male witch - and he showed me how to stop it. He said that I had witch blood but not enough to be able to do spells and those sorts of things. I was introduced to the Night Children and to lycanthropes. I was introduced to the Hidden World.

"The pain had stopped and I was best friends with one of the Night Children. I fell in love with a lycanthrope and I felt whole. But then there was a war of the Hidden World, a battle where the warlocks and witches fought the Night Children and the lycanthropes. The faeries were neutral. It was won by the warlocks and witches, of course, but we had a lot of casualties. We had powers where our enemies had skill. We were all forced to swear an oath to stay away from them - our enemies - and I swore too. I had to leave my first friend and my first love.