The Vanishing

Chapter 20

I'm not sure how much time had passed, but it felt like hours. We talked about anything and everything, stories from our childhood, favorite movies and TV shows, people at school we thought might be supernatural and why, and then we just laid there on the small cot in the corner of the room in silence for a while.

I haven't felt this comfortable around a guy in... well, ever. Patrick's eyes kept fluttering open every few minutes.

"You can sleep, can't you? Wait until the moon is up?" I asked.

"I need to stay awake." He said and sat up, stretching.

"The moon is rising, I can feel it." He said stretching more.

"Why is it different this time?" I asked abruptly.

"The change?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Stress about the disappearances." He shrugged.

"Oh." Was all I could say. I wanted to tell him that we would all be okay and that we'd figure this out. I couldn't lie.

"Have I ever told you about Elloryaá?" He asked, effectively changing the subject.

"No, what is it?" I asked, propping my head up with my arm to look at him.

"Well, it doesn't exist anymore. It hasn't for over a hundred years. It used to be a place where supernaturals could coexist outside of the human world." He said.

I parked up. A different realm? "Oh, please tell me you have stories."

"I do actually..." he said with a smile as he launched into his story.

Elloryaá, 1875

Queen Sarael was reading in her study when a knock on the door interrupted her.

"Come in." She called and closed her book. She smoothed out her lavender day dress as she stood.

"Your majesty, I'm afraid there is some bad news. The rebels have completely taken over the eastern province. There were mass casualties on both sides. What are your orders?" The guard relaying the message asked.

She paced the room, her golden hair caught the light of the daylight coming through the large French windows. She looked regal and powerful, like an avenging angel.

"We are losing this war." She said, still pacing and avoiding the question.

The guard did not speak, but shifted his weight anxiously.

"Deploy Eris protocol." She said grimly.

The guard met her unwavering gaze. "Your majesty, are you sure? That protocol is so extreme."

"I am your queen and you will not question my resolve. I am doing what's best for my people, see to it that it is done." She said firmly, her voice emanating a power that made the man shrink back.

"Yes, of course, your majesty." He said, backing out of the room.

~~

"You're telling me there used to be supernatural royalty and you decided on a story about war and not a ball with beautiful dresses and grand ballrooms?" I chuckled.

"Oh, there's plenty of those." Patrick smiled, then became serious.

"But the Eris protocol was basically a self-destruct sequence. All supernaturals were evacuated and moved into the real world and a powerful warlock made the rest of Elloryaá blink out of existence." Patrick explained.

"All of those people... how did that stop the war?" I asked.

"The Rebels of Elloryaá were unhappy with the monarchy, by moving everyone into the real world they effectively disbanded the monarchy. There were some zealots that did go after the queen anyway, eventually killing her. So in the end I guess the rebels won the war." He explained.

"That's awful." I sighed.

A look of shock passed over Patrick's face.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I have to fully transform, please look away, it isn't a pretty sight." He pleaded.

I stood in the corner, facing away from him. I felt a little like I was in time out or something.

I heard the tearing of fabric, followed by growls, and finally an ear-splitting howl. It was impossible not to look behind me, and when I did I was shocked at the sight of him. I've only ever seen a wolf once, on a trip to the zoo. The wolf that stood before me was slightly larger than the one I had seen at the zoo, and stared at me with amber colored eyes.. His fur was black as night, and his teeth were bared.

"Patrick, it's me." I said slowly, raising my hands in defense.

Patrick raised his wolf head at the sound of my voice. I chuckled nervously and held out a hand before crouching down to meet his eyes, which narrowed and then widened. He sniffed my outstretched hand with his large black nose, and I quelled the urge to shrink back into the wall behind me. He pushed his snout into my palm and I laughed.

"So we're all good now, then?" I grinned at him. He made a snuffling noise.

Blowing out a deep sigh of relief, I sat on the cot. He joined me, turning circles around the end of the bed like a dog. He laid atop one of the many blankets on the cot, staring me down with those amber eyes. His history lesson had sparked new interest in learning about my own family's history.

"Do you mind if I grab something?" I asked.

He grunted something that seemed like a no. I left the room and went back into special collections. A while ago, I had hidden my family's grimoire down here under the seat of the reading nook. I lifted the lid underneath the cushion and found the old, leatherbound book and brought it back into the room with me. Patrick snuffled at me when I sat down.

"I haven't looked at this in ages, and since Henry and I aren't exactly speaking at the moment I can't really learn much about my family. Something about your story reminded me of this." I said, opening it up to my family tree. I studied the faces of many banshees and witches on my father's side, and my mother's side of the family tree was filled with drawings of women and men who looked like they were glowing. Nephilim. There were many faces without names, especially on my mother's side. My eyes were drawn to a drawing of a woman on my mother's side. Her golden hair was brilliant against her tanned skin and bright eyes. Underneath, I saw what drove me to seek out this book. Underneath was a name, but it wasn't certain. It read: Sarael?

"It looks like my great-great-great-great-great whoever might have been assassinated." I said.

Patrick gave a confused snort.

"You said the queen's name was Sarael, which reminded me that I've seen that name before on my family tree. Not that it matters since Elloryaá doesn't exist anymore. I just thought it was interesting." I said.

Patrick looked up at me sleepily and grunted his response.

I spent the rest of the night learning spells, demons, and angels. I tried to keep my eyes open and failed. Instead, I drifted off into a peaceful and dreamy sleep.

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It's been a minute!

Fun fact the name Elloryaá came from my niece, I named it after her.

Remember to COMMENT and VOTE if you liked it!

til next time, 

Jess