Omnis Bestia

Chapter Nine: Explicandum

This is my greatest dream and worst nightmare rolled up into one. On one hand, I now know that I'm not crazy, and that all those small incidents over the years haven't been just my imagination, and that creatures of myth truly do exist. But on the other hand, my life has been full of lies and secrets, and that I'm apparently being hunted? The facts are still escaping me, and I feel like I have more questions than solid answers.

Before I'd been able to ask Luca any questions, Nik's father had received a call. After quietly conversing with his wife, the two of them had taken their leave, saying they would go pick up the Abbas couple at the airport. Since they needed someone to stay in their stead, Malik and Nik would be staying the night in order to guard both me and "the creature,'' as Kai had so eloquently put it.

"The shadows I've created? What did you mean by that?" I still have many questions, but what Luca had said stuck with me, and I really needed him to elaborate.

"The history of the Noctis is a long and winding tale, which to be frank, we don't have to time to tell." Luca says, grabbing my hand so that I stand up with him, "I've been sent as a representative of the Tenebras Elfos. I'm supposed to watch and guard you at a distance, maybe take care of the occasional werewolf. Until tonight, that is. It was only a matter of time until the imps rebelled against the dragons. I'm still not sure who convinced them, but the word in the woods is that there's been someone whispering into the ears of the lower demons."

"By any chance would the dark elf be so kind as to grace us with his name?" Malik questions with a scowl. "Family name included."

"Haze should be fine for now, I'd rather not give the people who tied me up, my name," Luca replies, eyes narrowed.

"Adiqib will pay for betraying me," Nikolai says, anger igniting his words, "I'll take that blasted imp and turn him into a flame-grilled paste." Which I'm pretty sure was the definition of a burger and would've told him so. However, we were getting off-topic and there will still things that needed to be discussed.

"Before we get any further, there's something I'd like to address." As soon as the words leave my mouth all eyes are on me as if they've been avoiding my unspoken question and know it's coming. "I could be wrong but I'm starting to get the feeling that no one in this room is, well... human."

"Well technically, as far as we know you are fully human. Your mother, for example, has the blood of the Omnis Bestia line and is as human as can be." Hornwell comments, pushing up her glasses, "Omins Bestia nowadays is more of a title than a race, a pure Bestia not being born in centuries."

I see my mother rubbing her hands together, which for some might be seen as her being cold. But as her daughter, I know that it means she's hiding something. I only ever see her do it though when someone mentions my dad.

"And as long as your father was also human, you don't have to worry about anything like that." Malik says, his gaze flicking over to my mother. "Now as for the rest of us..."

There's a long pause after that, no one really sure where to begin. Then Ms. Hornwell steps forward.

"Unlike most in this room, at one point I was fully human, but decades ago, I made a deal with the Noctis along with many others. The details of the deal aren't relevant, but the outcome of the deal is. I'm now-- to put it simply-- a witch. I can never marry or fall in love, I'll stay the same age forever and can now perform magic." Hornwell says, swirling a finger in the air, a trail of energy following it, "So now that that's out of the way, who's next?"

"Oh, I might as well," Malik says defeatedly, shrugging his shoulders, "I was never human, born a shifter. We're a family of lions, however, I'm different from most. Every few generations the Abbas family will produce a Nemean Lion, with impenetrable fur. And because I'm the Nemean Lion of this generation, I was tasked with staying here and protecting Amara instead of going with my family abroad."