Moonlight Denial: Shades of Moonlight Book One

Hey guys, long time no see! Yeah, sorry, my bad, and I only have the same old excuses to give, so I won’t, you’ve heard it all before. But we have a new chapter and that’s all that matters. I really like this one too and it’ll only lead to better places XD So, as usual here is the link to my replies to my wonderful reviews and go enjoy the chapter!

http://darkness80.livejournal.com/3202.html

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Nicoli slowly breathed in and out his nose as he walked through the hallway with all of the other students. His hands were shaking, had been all day, and the multitude of noises that assaulted him made his stomach clench terribly. He wasn’t ready to come to school. Not in the least. He had kept repeating that through every class and every step he had taken in the building.

He thought it wasn’t going to be an issue. School was nothing to have been worried about, but he was wrong. After what he had gone through with Dimitri, being held captive and put through terror and torture, he wasn’t ready to be surrounded by his rambunctious peers. It was too much too soon. Amelia had coached him through lunch, telling him he could make it and that it would be okay. It had helped, but only slightly. He just supposed he would have to get used to being surrounded by other teenagers that were perfectly normal and happy and that had no idea what was really out there. The lucky bastards.

Nicoli nearly collapsed against his locker, taking in deep breaths as he tried to calm his frazzled nerves.

“This, really, really sucks,” he muttered under his breath, turning to rest his back against the locker. “I guess I’ve developed some kind of school phobia or something.”

“It’s not a school phobia,” a voice said, nearly making Nicoli jump out of his socks. “You’re just kind of big crowd phobic right now.”

Nicoli clutched at his chest, willing his body not to have a heart attack. He then glared at Amelia, who stood beside him casually.

“God, I’ve told you to stop sneaking up on me!” he snapped at her. “Let’s just say I’m everything phobic right now, so you should announce your presence way before you even see me.”

“Sheesh, sorry, Mr. Scaredy-Pants. I’ll remember that for next time.” Her teasing look turned into that of concern and she placed her hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, really. If it keeps being really bad for you I’ll get Aunt Tabitha to make you some of her tea that helps with relaxation. If you take it before you go to school it’ll help you get through the day easier.”

“That would be fantastic. Please do that,” Nicoli pleaded as he opened his locker and started exchange books he needed for ones he didn’t.

“You survived at least, that’s something. Was it really that bad?”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m just glad it’s freaking over,” he said, watching some of the remaining students making their leave as he shoved his books into his backpack. “Everything is so much louder than I remember.”

“Than you remember? We’ve only been out of school for four days.”

“I know. It’s hard to explain. Everything just feels different now.” He closed his locker and spun the lock. He knew he said that wrong. Everything had stayed the same. He was the one that was different.

“Well, first day is always the hardest and you got through it. It’ll get easier.” She took Nicoli by the shoulders and spun him around toward the exit. “Now let’s get out of here. I’m feeling peckish and I’m sure if we get some kind of greasy food into you, you’ll calm right down.”

“Sounds like a great idea to me.”

The two headed out, their shoes squeaking against the scuffed floor. They wouldn’t get far. A voice calling out from behind them made them halt.

“Hey, Nic, ready for a post-holiday beat down?”

Nicoli and Amelia whirled around to see none other than Trevor and his goons stalking towards them. The two had successfully dodged the bully during lunch, though slipping back into the routine was highly vexing to Nicoli. It seemed Trevor didn’t have any Thanksgiving good wishes to give them and they would have to run again.

“Oh no,” Nicoli grumbled, but it was annoyance that was slipped into the words. Not fear.

Amelia grabbed Nicoli’s arm and pulled him toward the exit, ready to flee.

“Come on, Nicoli, let’s go.”

Nicoli made to do what Amelia suggested, turning towards the door, but Trevor’s voice stopped him a second time.

“Yeah, that’s right, run like the spineless coward you are. I’ll give you a five second head start.”

Nicoli dug his feet into the floor, preventing Amelia from pulling him further.

“Nicoli, what are you doing? Come on,” she said, giving his arm another tug.

Nicoli’s nostrils flared. Heat spread under his skin like a plague and his chest swelled with a feeling he had never had before, but one he knew how to use.

“No.” He pulled his arm from Amelia’s grasp and did something he never thought he would ever do. He walked towards Trevor.

“Oh-ho, what’s this? Finally deciding to give us your sorry hide? Forgot your running shoes at home, huh?” Trevor asked snidely as Nicoli stopped in front of him, his pack cackling in delight at the turn of events.

Nicoli took in a deep breath, stared Trevor straight in the eye and said two words,

“I’m sorry.”

Trevor laughed, but it died in mid “ha” and he blinked at Nicoli in utter confusion, his friends doing the same.

“Come again?”

“I said I’m sorry,” Nicoli repeated. “About what I said that day in class. About how Whixton is just a hole filled with nothing but imaginative morons and idiots. I was wrong. I was the idiot with an extra dash of moron. It took me a while to realize it, but Whixton is a great place. Better than I ever could have imagined and it’s filled with the most awesome people I could ever hope to meet.” He glanced back at Amelia at that, who was giving him a big smile of approval. “So, I’m sorry and I hope there are no hard feelings.”

Trevor stared at him while the pack muttered amongst themselves, glancing from their leader to Nicoli and back. Then Trevor smiled, making all of Nicoli’s tense muscles relax and he smiled back. That was until Trevor fisted his hand in Nicoli’s shirt and yanked him closer.

“Touching, really touching. It’s good to hear you say that, but your cowardly face still makes me want to hurl, so I’m going to smash it in anyways.”

Nicoli’s eyes widened when Trevor lifted his fist, but then they narrowed into slits.

“Well, I tried.”

Nicoli’s knee was faster than Trevor’s fist and it rammed up into the other’s gut and he shoved Trevor away just enough to sock him in the face.

Trevor was a lot sturdier than he looked. The blow only worked to snap his head to the side, but he turned back just as quick with a vicious snarl.

“You’re dead.”

With cries from both parties Trevor tackled Nicoli, making Amelia jump out of the way as they tumbled back in a flurry of fists.

“Nicoli!” she cried out. She rushed to help him, maybe scratch Trevor’s face or something, but the pack grabbed her and held her back.

“Hey, you stay out of this. It isn’t your fight,” one said as she tried to pull free.

“Yeah, Trevor already said he refuses to fight you, so it would be unfair.”

“Fine, whatever, now get the hell off me,” Amelia said, yanking free. She wanted to help, but as long as the fight was between just Nicoli and Trevor at least it would be fair. The pack had other ideas, however.

“Okay, you go around and grab him from behind and I’ll go to the side to distract him,” one of the members whispered to another behind Amelia.

“Gotcha.”

Two of the four teens made to carry out the plan, but Amelia spun around and threw out her leg, catching one of them in the crotch. When he dropped to his knees she grabbed the other boy and pushed him into the fallen one.

“Hey, if I don’t get to fight, neither do you. If any of you guys makes one move towards Nicoli you’re going to regret it.” She cast a heated glare to the two remaining guys. “Got it?”

They vigorously nodded and Amelia humphed, turning her backs on them to watch the ensuing fight.

Trevor was at a clear advantage. He sat atop Nicoli and wailed on him with blow after blow.

Nicoli forgot what being punched in the face was like and he didn’t miss it one bit. With Trevor so intent on landing his hits Nicoli was able to unbalance him by bucking his body and throwing his assailant off. He scrambled to his feet and as he did he noticed the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. Though, that was nothing new to him with recent events.

Before Trevor could get up further than his knees, Nicoli got his arm around his neck, getting him in a headlock. His knuckles met skull as he punched Trevor’s head, but that lasted only a second before Trevor twisted free and pushed him away.

Nicoli was just able to steady his feet before Trevor barreled into him again. Hot pain shot up his back as he was slammed into a locker, his spine meeting a handle.

He fought through the pain and managed to ram his fist into Trevor’s back a few times then kicked off the wall when Trevor buckled. The two were then locked together, trying their hardest to push the other back but neither gained any ground.

Nicoli yelped as Trevor unexpectedly twisted, effectively tossing Nicoli to the floor. Before Trevor could pounce on him again, Nicoli kicked out, catching Trevor’s knee. Trevor fell onto his other knee hard, but he didn’t even have time to flinch before Nicoli’s foot smashed into his face.

Nicoli made to kick him again, but Trevor jerked away just in time. He clambered unsteadily to his feet and wiped the back of his hand against his mouth and chin. A streak of red was left against the skin and Trevor looked at it before shifting his gaze to Nicoli.

Nicoli was breathing heavily as he stayed lying on his back, propped up on his elbows. He ignored the blood that trickled from his nose and swallowed what was collecting in his mouth. His nerves were on fire and every muscle in his body was tense and ready to spring into action. Time seemed to still as the two were locked on each other. Then, something happened. Something passed through Trevor, some emotion. Nicoli saw it in his eyes.

All at once Trevor’s body relaxed. He spat some bloodied spit on the floor and turned from his opponent. With confused stares he walked past Amelia and the pack.

“Come on, we’re out of here.”

The pack gawked after him.

“What? But Trevor –”

“This is what you’ve been waiting for!”

“How can you just walk away?”

“Hey!” Trevor roared, silencing the others. “I said, we’re out of here. Now get your heads out of your asses and move it.”

The pack jumped at the order and instantly clustered around Trevor and followed him out of the hallway.

The moment they were gone Amelia was at Nicoli’s side.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” she asked as she grabbed his arm and helped pull him up.

“Oh, yeah, my face feels like a Picasso painting, but I’ve felt worse.”

“What the hell were you thinking going against Trevor like that?”

Nicoli opened his bloody mouth to answer, but movement at the end of the hallway caught both of their attentions.

“Hey, what’s going on down there?”

It was a teacher and he was headed their way.

“Let’s get out of here,” Nicoli said, really not wanting to answer for his beaten state. The two picked up their bags and sprinted out of the hallway, the teacher calling after them, but going ignored. They didn’t slow even when they burst through the school doors and met open air.

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“Hold still,” Amelia said. She touched Nicoli’s busted lip with her fingers that were alight with bright, white magic.

Nicoli did as he was told and closed his eyes. The soothing warmth that radiated from Amelia was very relaxing. That was until the soothing light turned into an electrifying spark.

“Ow!” Nicoli jerked back from Amelia’s hand, whose magic had turned a light, crackling blue.

“Sorry, Sorry! I told you I suck at healing magic,” she apologized. “Let me just finish getting your lip and we’ll be done, I promise.” She shook out her hand until the magic turned white again and she went back to mending his split lip.

When it was done Nicoli sighed in relief and lay back on the grass. His face felt much better. After the two had run out of the school they had gone all the way to Whixton Park where they found a hiding spot in a small thicket of trees. There they had rested and Amelia offered to heal his wounds, even though it seemed like she shocked him more than she healed.

Nicoli put his hands behind his head and frowned up at the sky that was peeking through the tree branches.

“Hey, why do you think Trevor backed down?” Nicoli asked, turning his head to look at her. “Did you do something like before?” Amelia had confessed to him about the day Trevor went a little peculiar and he thought that was the coolest thing ever.

“No, I didn’t do anything. I wanted to, but I didn’t. What he did was entirely his own decision.”

“Huh, then I wonder what was up with that. I mean, he’s been wanting to clobber my face in forever, so that just seems weird.”

“Yeah, I agree. But I have to ask,” Amelia said, turning her body towards him more, tucking her skirt under her knees. “Why did you decide to stand up to him today? You were so intent on staying as far away from him as possible and then you suddenly apologize then punch him in the face.”

Nicoli stared up at the sky, putting his thoughts into place. How best could he describe the change that had come over him? He sat up to address her.

“I dunno. Before all of that shit happened with Dimitri I was kinda scared of Trevor. The last thing I wanted was to get my face punched in by him, so that’s why I always ran. Then today, it was weird, when he was taunting me, I realized I wasn’t scared of him anymore. I just found his bullshit annoying more than anything. I mean, I’ve been chased by a psycho vampire hunter more times than I can count, been pushed off two cliffs, almost died a couple of times, then I was held hostage by a clan of evil, psychotic vampires,” he said. He had told her about Omen during one of their talks and she ranted about how she knew the man that they had bumped into in town was bad.

“After all that, the prospect of being beaten up by a school bully was just…laughable. How could I be scared of Trevor after going through all of that stuff? I was just done with it and decided to end it once and for all.”

The two said nothing for a while, surrounded by Nicoli’s words. Then Amelia growled and hit her fist against the grassy ground.

“God, I hate this,” she grumbled.

“Hate what?” Nicoli asked, surprised at the outburst.

“How you are. What’s happened to you. You still seem so down and just…not yourself.”

Nicoli arched a brow at her.

“So, you wanted me to just keep running away from Trevor or let him pound me into the ground?”

“No, I’m not talking about that. I mean how you sound when you talk about what happened with that bastard. You sound so wounded.”

Nicoli raised his knees and rested his arms on top of them. Did he really sound so different? Was that really so surprising?

“Well, how am I supposed to sound when talking about it? Happy? Besides, it’s still very recent. Sorry, but I just can’t get over something like that so quickly.”

Awkward silence smothered them again and nothing was said. That was until Amelia stood up and faced him.

“All right, that’s it. To help you feel better we’re going out tonight.” She received another odd look from her friend.

“Out? Out where?”

“You’ll see and the reason I’m taking you out is because you really need to see the other side to this world that you’ve stumbled on. You’ve only seen the scary, unhappy things the vampires have showed you, but you also need to see that this world is also amazingly beautiful and just incredible. I’m sure it would make you feel better to know that everything with the occult isn’t all doom and gloom. So, what do you say?”

Nicoli thought it over. What could Amelia possibly show him to convince him of that? He was curious, but he trusted Amelia. He stood and nodded.

“Sure, a change in pace sounds like just what I need.”

Amelia gave her brilliant, bright smile.

“Great, you won’t regret it. I promise.”

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Nicoli paced around his room in the dark. The moonlight that filtered through his window was the only thing stopping him from running into anything. He was fully clothed from his sneakers to one of his heavier jackets, as requested he wear. With a glance to the alarm clock he noted that it was three minutes to midnight. Amelia would be arriving soon.

He went to his door for the thousandth time and pressed his ear against it. All was quiet in the house. His parents had gone to bed ages ago, but that didn’t stop him from being paranoid.

An audible tink sound filled the room and Nicoli’s head whipped around. He looked just in time to see a pebble bounce off the glass making the same tink sound. He was reminded of back at the mansion when Gavin had tried to get him to the window and he immediately shook off the memory. He never wanted to think of that stupid mansion again.

He quickly went to the window and stuck his head out after opening it. Down below stood Amelia in a snug looking coat that had fur around the collar and cuffs. She smiled up at him and waved.

“You ready?” she asked.

“Yeah, just hold on. I’ll be down in a second.”

He went back into the room, but put his head back out a second later when Amelia called him back.

“What?” he asked.

“Where are you going?”

“Ummm downstairs to go to the backdoor.”

She tilted her head at him curiously.

“Why would you go downstairs?”

“…why wouldn’t I?”

“Because it would be faster to go out the window.”

“Are you nuts? I’m not jumping out of a second storey window.” Sure he had done it before, but that was when he was in the arms of a vampire that could fly, or at least hover.

“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you,” she assured him.

“Uh, Amelia, you’re awesome and everything, but I’d find it hard to believe you can catch a football let alone a person falling from a second storey window.”

She planted her hands on her hips and scowled up at him.

“I’ll be catching you with magic, smart one, and I’ll have you know I rock at football. Uncle Roderick taught me a fierce tackle, so you watch yourself.”

Nicoli was relieved Amelia wouldn’t be catching him physically, but he still wasn’t thrilled about jumping out of a window. Magic or no. With coaching from Amelia he clambered out of the window and maneuvered himself so he was sitting on the sill, bending forward awkwardly so as not to hit the top of the glass pane.

“Now jump,” Amelia said.

Nicoli took in a deep breath, placed the soles of his feet against the house, closed his eyes and pushed off as hard as he could. His stomach did a fearful flip as he plummeted to the ground. He kept his eyes shut and choked down a scream. Then he wasn’t falling anymore and he felt as light as the air itself.

He opened his eyes to see that he was enveloped in a cloud of pale blue magic. It almost felt like he could swim in it, but he didn’t dare move. He descended down lightly and when his feet touched the ground the cloud dissipated.

“See, nothing to it,” Amelia said with a wide grin.

“Man, that was so cool,” Nicoli muttered, looking up at his window. “It must be awesome to be a witch.”

“You have no idea, but come on, let’s get going.” She started wandering off and Nicoli followed after her.

“Where are we going, exactly?”

“Into Twilight Forest.”

Nicoli stopped dead in his tracks.

“What?”

“We’re going into Twilight Forest. What I want to show you is in there. What’s wrong?”

Nicoli was shaking and he took a step back.

“Are you insane?” he asked again. “You want me to go into some scary dark woods with just the two of us? Do I have to remind you that there is a whole clan of evil vampires that are out there somewhere that would just love to tear us open? They could pop out at any second and going into some woods late at night is just asking for trouble.”

Amelia rolled her eyes and put her arm around his shoulders.

“Nicoli, you worry far too much. If it was just any woods I would have to agree with you, but we’re going into Twilight Forest. Since you’re with me, Twilight Forest is one of the safest places to be.”

“How so?”

Amelia chuckled and gave a knowing grin.

“You may have vampire friends, but I’m friends with nearly everything else that goes bump in the night. You wouldn’t even begin to imagine what lives in Twilight Forest and I’ve been going in there since I was a kid, so you can say the forest is very…protective of me. If we get attacked by those stupid vampires in there they’ll find themselves outnumbered very quickly.”

Nicoli looked from Amelia to the forest uneasily.

“I still don’t like it,” he muttered.

“You don’t have to like it. Just trust me, okay?”

Every cell in Nicoli’s body was telling him it was a bad idea, but he went against all of them and nodded.

“Okay, I trust you.” Then, in a moment of weakness he would only show Amelia, he grabbed her hand. “Just, don’t let go of me, okay?”

Amelia nodded and squeezed his hand tightly, giving him the reassurance he needed.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

The two walked together into the woods. Nicoli tightened his grip on Amelia’s hand as they stepped from his backyard onto the forest floor. The woods were eerily quiet save for the chirping of crickets and the occasional “Hoot” of an owl somewhere. Nicoli felt like he had to lift his feet up high in order to avoid tripping on anything.

“Man, its really dark. Did you bring a flashlight or something?”

“Pffft, why would I need a flashlight?”

Nicoli watched her raise her other hand and in her palm a small, glowing white ball appeared. It floated into the air, circled them a couple of times, before hovering a few feet ahead of them, lighting the way.

“Wow, you are so cool.”

Amelia laughed and Nicoli saw her cheeks redden just a bit.

“Come on, let’s keep going.”

So they walked in peaceful silence with their glowing guide just ahead of them. Nicoli was still slightly afraid, but being with Amelia and holding her hand made the fearful tremble in his chest lighten just a bit.

Soon they reached their destination and Nicoli found it was a place he was familiar with.

“The Fairy Rings?” he said questionably. The clearing was the same as before and the moonlight rained down on the little shrooms that formed perfect circles. It appeared a couple more rings were starting to grow.

“Yep.”

“Why are we here?”

“You’ll see. Now hold on, I’m gonna need my hand back for a second.”

Nicoli’s stomach clenched and he wanted to let out a whine, but he sucked up his courage and released Amelia’s hand.

“Okay, let me just go set this up really quick.” She rooted in the pockets of her jacket and pulled out a few sticks of incense and a lighter, giving Nicoli déjà vu. She went about the area, lighting and placing the sticks here and there around the mushroom rings.

Nicoli stood underneath the light ball simply watching her and wondering what was going to happen when she was finished. Soon enough she came back by his side and took hold of his hand again. With a smile she reached up with her other hand and grabbed the ball of light, snuffing it out and plunging them into darkness.

“Ack, what did you do that for?” he asked, his surrounding seeming even darker as his eyes tried to adjust.

“Because we’re not going to need it.” She sucked in air and began to yell. “Come on out guys! It’s okay, he knows everything! So, come out and say hello!”

He was just about to ask who she was talking to, but his words turned into a gasp in his throat. All of the mushrooms began to glow and shimmer with a pale green light. Laughter filled the air and then, like a geyser, butterflies came shooting out of the rings, each glittering with their own light.

There were hundreds of them flitting about, but when Nicoli looked closer he realized that they weren’t butterflies at all. They were tiny people with butterfly wings.

“Fairies,” Nicoli breathed in awe.

“That’s right,” Amelia said softly, enjoying the wonder that had come over the other.

Some of the fairies disappeared into the trees, others began dancing on the Fairy Rings, but quite a few began circling Nicoli and Amelia, laughing and swooping all around them. Without thinking Nicoli released Amelia’s hand and held them out in front of him. To his amazement a few fairies landed and began pirouetting across his palms before taking off again. They were so light and their toes slightly tickled.

Strands of his hair were playfully tugged and a couple tickled his ears. One brave fairy flew right up to his face, smiled and kissed his nose before fluttering away. Nicoli felt he was going to explode. He had never seen something so incredible in his life. He knew the supernatural existed, but he realized he had been exposed to so little of it.

“Amelia, this is-I can’t believe this. It’s so–”

“Beautiful? Amazing? Breathtaking?” she finished for him, grinning from ear to ear as several fairies peeked out of her long, red hair. “See, I told you our world wasn’t all scary. You’ve seen such a small part of it and not a good part either. You need to see how wonderful it can be and I thought they were more than suited to help.”

“Well, I’m definitely seeing now.”

He stood there for a long time, just watching the fairies in all of their grace and beauty. After a while he saw the differences between them. Most of them were female, but he was able to pick out a few males. While there were several with butterfly wings there were also others with what looked to be dragonfly and various other insect wings. There were so many, but each was different and unique.

He looked over when Amelia began to giggle. Several fairies were pulling at her hair and jacket, as if trying to lead her somewhere.

“What are they doing?” he asked.

“They want me to dance with them. They love dancing.” She unzipped her jacket and let it fall to the ground before running out to the middle of the clearing. She then began to dance, twirling around, mimicking the fairies that danced in the air, all the while never disturbing the Fairy Rings.

Nicoli chuckled as he watched her and the fairies that seemed so delighted with her. Soon they weren’t satisfied with just her dancing.

“Whoa, hey, hold on a second,” Nicoli said as several fairies started pulling on him, trying to lead him towards Amelia. “I’m not a good dancer.”

“They don’t care,” Amelia told him. “They just want you to dance. You should feel honored; they don’t ask just anyone to come dance with them.” She spun over to him and grabbed his hands. “Just have fun with it.”

She seemed so enthused and the fairies around them seemed just as eager, so he relented. Together they danced, holding hands and laughing as the fairies danced around them. It was such a wondrous, carefree sensation that Nicoli lost all reservations and gave himself over to the dancing.

It felt like they had danced for hours. They danced and laughed themselves into exhaustion until they collapsed on the ground where they continued to laugh. They lay on the grass on their backs, staring up at the sky. They were facing opposite directions, but their heads were side by side.

The fairies still fluttered about. A lot had disappeared off into the woods or back into the Fairy Rings, but others floated in the air leisurely. Some had landed on Amelia and Nicoli, playing hide and seek with each other in and out of the teens’ clothes and pockets. Others were pulling up grass or found fallen leaves and would fly over Nicoli and Amelia and drop the foliage onto the two.

“Man, I haven’t felt this relaxed in a long, long time,” Nicoli said, his voice soft and dreamy. It was true. Every muscle in his body was loose with not a hint of tension and all of his fears and worries had just melted away.

“It’s the fairy dust. It’s a good relaxer,” Amelia murmured.

“Soooo, we’re basically getting high right now?”

Amelia laughed, startling some of the fairies that were resting on her, but they just laughed along and resettled.

“Mildly so, I assure you.”

“Mildly or no, I like it,” Nicoli said with a big grin and a fairy landed on his chin and began tapping on his white teeth. He blew at her and the fairy stuck out her wings and rode his breath high into the sky. “Thanks for bringing me out here, Amelia. Really. I so needed this after everything.”

Amelia propped herself up on her elbow, disturbing many fairies that took off and found other things to do.

“What, you think this is all I brought you out here for?”

Nicoli blinked up at her.

“There’s more?”

“You have no idea. Come on,” She stood up and the rest of the fairies still on her vacated.

Nicoli followed suit and when was fully up he shook his body and clothes, trying to dislodge fairies that still wanted to hide.

“Ow!” he yelped when the last fairy bit his ear before fluttering away. “The hell was that for?”

“A goodbye love bite. You get used to it.” She grabbed her coat from the ground and, after shaking more fairies out of it, slipped it back on. Then she took hold of his hand and led him back into the woods. “Let’s hurry, we’ve got a bit of a walk.”

They traveled with the help of the glowing orb that Amelia relit. They talked and laughed about the fairies and Nicoli just couldn’t get over how amazing the experience had been. He stopped in his excited ramble when he noticed that the trees began to thin out. A bad feeling took hold of his bones that only intensified when they passed the tree line and arrived at a very familiar location. Banshee Cliffs.

“What are we doing here?” he asked, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice. He had told Amelia what had happened here, so why on earth would she bring him to one of the last places he would want to be?

“You’ll see and don’t have such a scared look. It’s okay. You had a bad experience here, but blame the person, not the place.” She tugged on his hand and after a second of resistance Nicoli followed her. They went closer and closer to the edge, but stopped before they made it all the way there.

“So what do you have to show me here?” he asked, trying to keep his voice level. He could see Amelia smile in the magic light and it helped to calm down his nerves just a bit.

“I wanted you to have a different view of Whixton. Let’s say, a birds eye view.”

Nicoli couldn’t even begin to understand what that meant. All he could do was watch as she began rooting in her pockets again. He wondered how much stuff she had crammed in there, but thought better than to ask.

“Ah-ha! There it is!” she cried out in victory. Her hand reappeared and she stuck it out, palm open, towards him.

“Umm…what is that?” he asked uncertainly. In the palm of her hand was what appeared to be a miniature, old fashioned broomstick. He had no idea why she was so proud of the thing.

“This is my baby,” she preened. “Here, you’ll understand its magnificence once it’s back to its original size.”

“Original size?”

She just gave a secret smile and offered no reply. Her eyes closed and she clasped her hands around the little broom. A shining light began to radiate from her hands, slipping through the cracks of her fingers. It was almost as if she were holding a mini sun. The ball of light was then tossed into the air and the broom in the center of the spectacle began to spin like an out of control needle on a compass.

Nicoli watched in awe as the broomstick was no longer miniature, but began to grow to the size of a normal one. There was a small flash when the transformation was complete and the broom descended back down to earth.

Before it hit the ground it was snatched up by Amelia, who then twirled it like an oversized baton.

“Tada!” she cheered when she completed her spin.

Nicoli chuckled and shook his head.

“Okay, now you’re just showing off.”

“Maybe a little.”

“So, while that was cool and all, what are we supposed to be doing with that?”

Amelia grinned from ear to ear.

“We’re going to go flying.”

Nicoli blinked at her. Did he hear her right? He looked from the broomstick to the sky and then continued to stare at her.

“Flying? Are you serious? How are we –” He looked to the broom again. “Wait, witches really fly on broomsticks? Seriously?”

Amelia laughed and waved her hand at him.

“No, no, no. That’s just silly nonsense people came up with. See, when Mom was teaching me how to do permanent levitation spells she asked me what I wanted to use it on.” She held up the broom, that smile still in place. “I just decided to be cute and make that silly nonsense a reality.”

“Okay, but you’re really expecting me to go hundreds of feet into the air…on a toothpick?”

“Yeeep.”

Nicoli glanced into the air again, thinking how stupid and dangerous it would be. His eyes came back down, he smiled and, with a shrug of his shoulders said,

“Sure.”

“Great! Don’t worry you’re going to love this. Now do what I do.”

Amelia positioned the broom between her legs and looked like she was about to take off any second.

“Get on behind me,” she directed.

Nicoli did as he was told and lifted his leg over the broom so that he would straddle it once it was higher.

“Are you sure its going to support us both?” he asked, beginning to have doubts.

“Sure, me and Preston do this all the time and he’s bigger than you. Okay, you ready?”

“Um, you really want me to answer that? I don’t think even a barrel of alcohol could make me ready for this. You just start us off and make sure I don’t fall off.”

“Right, better hold onto me then. Put your hands on my waist.”

He did one better by wrapping his arms around her waist instead.

“Heh, okay, or that,” she said with a chuckle. “Now remember to keep a tight grip with your legs. It’s all about the legs.”

There was movement below as the broom began to rise and he realized it wasn't of Amelia’s doing. When it was firmly nestled against his groin and rear he clenched his thighs together.

“I’m not going to be able to feel my nuts after this, am I?”

“Nope, but you get used to it. I’m pretty sure Preston has balls of steel by now. All right, we’re going to start take off.”

The pressure underneath Nicoli increased until his feet rose off the ground.

“Holy shit,” he murmured, looking from one side to the other as his toes were nearly an inch from the ground. “It’s working.”

“Yep, now hold on tight and try not to scream because here. We. Go!”

There was no starting off gently. There was no slow gliding around the cliff so Nicoli could get used to the feel of being supported by only a piece of wood with bristles. There was only a rush of air and the ground beneath them disappeared completely as they shot off the cliff and over the lake.

Nicoli did scream, but muffled it into Amelia’s shoulder. The icy air attacked every inch of him and his eyes immediately watered and he was left blind.

“Ack! I can’t see anything!” he yelled over the roaring wind.

“You’ll adjust in a second. I should have brought you a pair of goggles, sorry!”

Nicoli rubbed his face into her shoulder to try and get the tears out of his eyes. Soon enough his eyes became adjusted and he was able to look to where they were going. His breath was taken away. They were sailing over the lake at the same height the cliff was and he could see every sparkle that danced on the waters surfaced caused by the light of the moon.

“Wow.”

“Cool, right? Hey are your legs locked?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah, why?” he asked and crossed his ankles just to make double sure.

“Do you want to do a barrel roll?”

“A what?”

“One of these!”

Nicoli shrieked as Amelia leaned so far over to the side that the broom turned and he found himself upside down for a second before making the full circle and being righted again.

“Amelia! You’re insane! Don’t ever do that again!” He huffed his breath in and out harshly, but then the fear seeped out of him and he realized the thrill that had raced through his blood had been exhilarating. It was the feeling he got from being on a rollercoaster. “Okay, never mind. Do it again!”

Amelia just laughed and they did a few more barrel rolls through the chilly night air. After that they simply did a few laps around the lake as Nicoli took in the view. He could hardly believe that he was flying, really flying. He wasn't safely incased in an airplane, but was actually out in the open air and he soon came to love it.

“Hey,” Amelia said after a while of silence. “Have you ever been on the ride Drop Zone?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah, why?” Nicoli asked, thinking to the monster ride that took people high into the air and then dropping them like stones to the ground, promising instant death, before stopping just short.

“Well, here’s what it’s like broom style!”

Before Nicoli could even formulate a question the broom took a sharp nose dive. Nicoli screamed again as they plummeted toward the water and flashes of his fall blinded him. Omen’s smirking face. The crumbling cliff. The water below that would be his tomb.

The broom leveled out just over the water and they flew just above the surface.

“Wasn’t that awesome? Nicoli? Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked.

He was clinging to her tightly and his entire body was shaking.

“A-Amelia, please don’t ever do that again,” he said, his voice shaking just as bad as his body. “Simulating my near death experiences is not my idea of fun.”

“Wha…oh! Oh my God, Nicoli. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t even thinking what that would be like for you. I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay, just refrain from doing that again.”

They flew on in silence, Nicoli trying to get a hold of himself while Amelia stewed in her shame. The lake glittered just below them, helping him relax a little in its beauty. His head perked when Amelia gasped in delight.

“What?” he asked.

“She’s awake! Oh, this will be great.”

“Who’s awake?” Nicoli asked in confusion.

“Look below us.”

He did as he was told and looked at the water directly below them. At first he saw nothing but the water, but then he noticed that there was something in the water. There was a dark form that would move from one side of them to the other then back, keeping up with them, but Nicoli couldn’t see what it was.

“What is that?” he finally asked.

“That’s Neeva!” she replied excitedly.

“Neeva?”

“Well, that’s what I call her since I can’t pronounce her name. She’s the mermaid that lives in Lucid Lake.”

“Mermaid!?” Nicoli leaned over to try to get a better look at Neeva, but the water was too dark. “Are you serious?”

“Very. Here, hold your hands up like this.” Amelia took both hands off the broomstick and held them up straight in the air.

Nicoli tentatively unwound his arms from Amelia’s waist and held his hands up in the air like her.

“What now?” he asked, trying to use his legs to keep him steady.

“Just wait for it.”

Nicoli held his pose, wondering what was going to happen. He wasn’t disappointed. The water’s surface beside them broke with a big splash and something big jumped right over them. He caught a glimpse of gray skin and long gray, dark green hair. His fingertips brushed against scales that were a glittering mix of grays and greens.

There was another splash as the mermaid completed her jump and disappeared into the water again.

“Oh my-Holy shit. That was really a mermaid!” he exclaimed.

“Yep, Neeva’s lived in Lucid Lake since before I was born. She’s so cool. She’s actually saved a lot of people from drowning here. Oh! She wants to do it again. Arms up!”

So the two raised their arms again and the mermaid made another jump. She did this a few times and with each jump Nicoli was able to see more of her. To her deep green eyes, her pure white lips, the delicate curve of her tail and it was from there he learned that mermaids really didn’t wear bikini tops made of shells.

Soon Neeva grew bored with her jumping show and settled for chasing the teenagers around the lake, trying to steal their dangling shoes. Even that became less entertaining and the mermaid disappeared under the water for good after blowing the two a kiss.

“That was amazing,” Nicoli murmured, staring after the beautiful aquatic woman. There were so many people that wished they could swim and play with dolphins, but how many would ever dream of playing with a real life mermaid?

“I never would have guessed in a million years that there was a mermaid here. Aren’t they supposed to live in the ocean?” he asked.

“Normally, yes, but there are a few that prefer to live in lakes like these.”

“How in the world hasn’t she been caught?”

“Neeva is smart. She would never let herself be caught by a human. Like I said, she’s lived here for years, she knows all of the best hiding places. Now, there’s one last thing I want to show you.”

“There’s not a dragon living around here, is there?”

Amelia laughed and it echoed over the lakes glistening surface.

“No, of course not,” she said. “Dragons live over in Europe and England.”

Nicoli’s mouth fell open, but was unable to get anything out before Amelia continued.

“No, I want to show you something else. Get ready for ascension!”

Nicoli had to quickly tighten his grip on Amelia when the broom tilted back and the two shot off back into the sky. The higher they went the colder it became, but Nicoli still enjoyed himself, and holding onto Amelia kept him warm enough. The lake soon disappeared behind them, replaced by a sea of green pine from Twilight Forest.

“Close your eyes,” Amelia said after a few minutes.

“Um, okay.”

Nicoli did as he was told and he closed his eyes to the world. It helped intensify the bracing chill that kissed and nipped his face. He felt them race through the air, but then their momentum slowed before coming to a complete stop.

“Are we here?” he asked.

“Yes, open your eyes.”

Nicoli did so and at first he didn’t know what he was supposed to be seeing, but then something below caught his eye. Resting on the landscape, encircled lovingly by the same sea of trees, was Whixton. He could see every house and building and the small town was aglow from the soft lights of streetlamps and from those households whose residents had yet to go to sleep. From up above the sleepy little town was quite beautiful in its own way.

“How many times have I said wow tonight?” Nicoli asked softly.

“Not sure, I lost count.”

“Well add another one to the uncountable. This is just…Whixton looks incredible from up here.”

“Is it even better than the lights of San Francisco?” Amelia asked coyly.

“Not even close, but it’s still awesome looking.”

Amelia laughed and shook her head.

“Well, at least you still have appreciation for it, I guess. The reason I wanted to show you this is because what you said made me really happy.”

“…What I said?” Nicoli said slowly, wracking his brain for any clue as to what she was talking about. “What did I say?”

“What you said to Trevor. About how you feel about Whixton now. How you said it's a great place with great people. I don’t know, that just made me feel so happy to hear that come from you. I wanted to hug you right then and there, but then you guys started throwing fists and, not wanting a knuckle sandwich, I decided not to. I’d hug you now, too, but that might be a bit hazardous.”

Nicoli glanced down and imagined them plummeting towards earth while hugging each other.

“Uh, yeah, let’s save that hug for later,” he agreed. “But I want you to know that I meant what I said. I hated it here at first, and coming here has caused me more trouble than anyone should ever have to deal with, but I’m happy I moved here. San Francisco will always be my home, but Whixton is a close second.”

Amelia couldn’t hug him, but he could hug her and he did so, tightening his arms around her torso and resting his head on her shoulder.

“That’s all I could ever hope for,” Amelia said, patting his arm. “Are you ready to go home?”

He lifted his head up enough to rest his chin on her shoulder.

“Not really. Seeing all of this stuff has me way too pumped. I’d never get to sleep.”

“I’m glad you said that.” The broom went into motion again and she made a giant U-turn and went back the way they had just come. “We’ll go back to the lake. There’s a great hang out spot that we can go to.”

They darted through the night sky and Nicoli turned enough to look back at the dwindling little town. Its lights growing smaller and smaller. He smiled. With all of the troubles he had been going through, he was happy to have come to the realization that he had found a new home. Along with the new people that he had come to cherish a sense of peacefulness came over him.

For the first time in a long time he felt that things were going to be okay.

===========================Ch. 70 End

So, there you have it, a nice wind down chapter that Nicoli desperately needed. He won’t be entirely okay after this, but he will be better. You guys got to see a lot of cool things along with Nicoli. The Fairy Rings came back into play and you even got to see a mermaid! You also got to see Nicoli finally put the smack down on Trevor. I’ll tell you now Nicoli would have lost the fight if Trevor hadn’t walked away, though why he did it is still a mystery.

So I have a few things I want to draw your attention to. Firstly, this was the official ch. 70! Holy crap, I can’t believe we’ve made it to 70 chapters. That is way closer to 100 than I want to be O_o Second of all, on the 30th of next month, October 30th, it will be MD’s three year anniversary. Crazy, right? It seems like we just celebrated the two year anniversary and the third is right around the corner! @_@

Well, that’s all for now, guys. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one should be well worth the wait XD Okay, everyone be goodl. Until next time! *huggies and lickies*