Whispers of the otherworld - An extract

            The next morning when she woke her eyes flashed open, expecting Tony to be in bed with her. She was alone. She was naked and could feel something sticky on her inner thighs. It wasn’t just a dream. She sat up and looked around to see if there was any evidence that Tony was here last night. There was nothing. There was the usual feeling between her legs, she had definitely had sex last night. This was more than just a weird dream. She looked at her phone, but there was nothing there. Nothing from Tony, no notes left behind. Nothing. He wasn’t here. She shook her head. There couldn’t be a way for this to be a power of an Other.

            There were feelings she couldn’t shake. She had a shower to wash everything away. She almost felt better afterwards, but it still felt wrong. It couldn’t happen; it wasn’t right, right. Or was this a gift? Could this be something she could have?

            She got dressed in similar clothes to the previous day. She wanted to be comfortable, especially with having lunch with an Other. Her life felt a little out of control at the moment. She needed it to be back on top of things.

            Work was pretty steady in the morning. Lacy had been given a couple of new projects by HR. Things that would get her through the rest of the week.

            When it reached lunchtime, she sighed and stood up. She was nervous about this lunch. At least it will be a short lunch, it had a deadline.

            By the time she got downstairs she felt almost okay. Michael was waiting for her. It was just lunch, it was fine. It’s not like the Leadership were going to come in and arrest her. Not that she thought that was even a thing.

            ‘Lacy, hey, thanks for this. I know Jane is looking forward to meeting you.’

            ‘Hey Mike, let’s go.’

            She followed Michael to a small café across the road. As soon they entered the café, she knew who Jane was. She was a small blonde woman looking very nervous. I could feel straight away that she was an Other. It was obvious at the door. Lacy had never sensed an Other that easily.

            Jane stood when she them. She wasn’t smiling. She looked really nervous; Lacy could feel the anxiety and fear radiating off her. It was strange to see an Other like this. Micheal went straight up to her and hugged her.

            She was an attractive woman. She was the same height as Lacy, slim build and short blonde hair. Her eyes though were a bright green, so similar to Tony and wondered if there as a connection between the two.

            ‘Jane, this is Lacy. Lacy this is Jane.’ Lacy held her hand out to shake Jane’s.

            ‘It’s nice to meet you, Jane.’

            ‘I’ve never met a Reader before. You aren’t what I expected at all.’

            ‘Oh, okay.’

            ‘Sorry, that did not come out the way I expected it too.’ Lacy smiled.

            ‘It’s okay, I understand.’

            Everyone sat down to order food. Thankfully it came quickly.

            ‘So, Lacy, thank you for having lunch with us. I’m not sure what Michael has told you, but I want to turn Michael, and I need to understand your side of things.’

            ‘I’m not really sure what to say.’

            ‘I don’t want your people coming after us.’ Lacy sighed.

            ‘Look, I have no reason to come after you. Michael is going in to this knowing everything. It is not like in previous generations when Others were hunted and killed. I can’t guarantee what anyone else will do. Just know that things are changing, and our Leadership is making themselves more known. If you do truly want this, I think you should disappear for a while.’

            They both stared at her. ‘Thank you Lacy. I appreciate it. You are not what I was expecting for a Reader.’

            ‘Well, you Others keep surprising me at the moment, so I am just trying to roll with it. Ignoring centuries of hate and war.’ Lacy was feeling a little frustrated with the assumption that Readers were considered the enemy and not the protectors of humanity.

            ‘That was another reason to meet with you. There are whispers amongst the Others. Something is changing. The royal family is rumoured to have left their palace and amongst the humans. Something that hasn’t happened in centuries.’

            ‘What does that mean?’

            ‘They usually only come out to observe the world, place their kind amongst the humans and take control again. Every few centuries they do this. But the human world is very different now. Others are trying to adapt.’

            ‘Explains why I have been seeing more of your kind. Not really sure what it means though.’

            ‘It could mean a lot of things. It could mean war.’

            ‘Right, explains why our Leadership is more active. Thank you for the warning.’

            ‘Of course. But I have also heard whispers of something else. Someone that they are looking for.’

            ‘Who?’ Lacy wondered.

            ‘I honestly don’t know. I haven’t heard any names or description. Just that one of the ruling families is searching for someone.’

            ‘A human?’

            ‘I’m not sure. It would seem strange for them to be searching for a mere human.’

            ‘It seems odd for them searching for anyone.’

            ‘Centuries ago, they used to search for the strongest humans to turn and bring into the families. Trying to breed with them.’

            ‘I didn’t know that was possible.’ Jane stopped speaking for a moment realising that maybe she had said too much. Lacy watched the Other. This had been an interesting evening already, having obtained more information than expected. She needed to leave and talk to Helen.

            They finished eating and conversation turned to more superficial things for the remainder of lunch.

            ‘Thank you again Lacy for meeting Jane, I appreciate it.’

            ‘All good Michael, I better get back to work.’ Lacy stood and returned to the office. She could only think about the royals entering the human world. Whatever it meant it couldn’t be a good thing for the Readers, or humans.

            She needed to call her mum and maybe Helen as well.

            The phone rang twice before Helen answered.

            ‘Lacy, what is happening?’

            ‘What did you see?’

            ‘I see nothing, you are blank to me.’

            ‘That doesn’t make sense.’

            ‘I know, anyway you called for another reason I presume.’

            ‘The royals have entered the human world.’

            ‘Ah, now I see it. I need to warn the Leadership. Can you call your mother? Wait, how do you know this before I do?’

            ‘I met with an Other today. She told me. She said there are whispers that the Others are looking for someone.’

            ‘Okay, is this the Other you told me about?’

            ‘No, I haven’t seen or spoken to him for few days. This was the wife of someone at work.’

            ‘Hmm, I haven’t seen anything of that. But I haven’t been looking for that specifically. This might make it easier to find something. Thank you Lacy.’ Helen hung up quickly while Lacy called her mother. It wasn’t a long conversation. Just enough to let her know what Lacy had learnt.

            ‘How are you feeling, honey?’

            ‘Much better.’

            ‘Good. Have you spoken to Helen?’

            ‘Yeah, I spoke to her just before.’

            ‘Okay, I need to make a couple of phone calls, go back to work and we will speak to you later. No doubt the Leadership will want to talk to all of us.’ That seemed odd for her mother to be openly willing to talk to the Leadership.

            ‘Thanks mum.’

            ‘Of course, honey.’

            Lacy went back to her space and tried to focus on work, but she couldn’t focus. All she could think about were the Royals and who the Others were looking for. She didn’t know enough about them. Only what her mother had told her. For the first time Lacy wondered about the education her mother had given her. Clearly there was something lacking. Whether by choice or by accident. She messaged Tony again, wondering if he knew about the Royals. She didn’t expect an answer but still tried.

            It got to about 3 o’clock and she was done. She couldn’t concentrate so she went to train. She had too much on her mind now and needed to figure it out in her head. It took a good hour of working with Grant for her mind to finally settle. But she still couldn’t figure any of it out. Why were the Others searching for humans to turn. As far as Lacy was concerned the strongest Others were born, not turned. As well as what gifts did Others have. All she had been told was that Others fed off humans. Their memories, their blood. And if Others had gifts, did Readers have gifts as well.

            When Grant took her down for about the 20th time that night, she decided it was time to give up. He offered to hear her out, but he couldn’t help her. Lacy knew her mother could answer her questions, but most likely she wouldn’t. Instead she hoped that Tony visited her again in her sleep tonight, if not in person.

            It was a quiet trip home, and both her cats were excited to see her. She was also happy to home. This afternoon would be a good time to have a bath.

            Lacy poured some salts and herbs to soak in. Lavender and rose among other things. She lit some candles then poured some wine and settled in. An hour later she was feeling more relaxed. She had a bit of a nap, finished her wine and it was only five.

            She dressed in some leggings and a shirt. She fed the cats and started cooking some dinner. Nothing special, she was craving fish and made a salad to go with it. Another glass of wine and she tucked into her food. It was exactly what she wanted.

            It seemed like the evening was dragging, so she went back to the book she had been reading the other day. It wasn’t enough to distract her or keep her awake so she decided it was just easier to go to bed and hope for answers during the night.

            Before too long she was asleep and deep in her dreams. But this wasn’t a dream. She was in a castle, in a cavernous bedroom, lying on a huge four post bed. It was the kind of bed she dreamed of having, if only her bedroom was bigger. She looked down her body to realise she was still in the nightgown she had gone to bed in.

            She sensed his presence before she saw him. Staring at him now, all the questions she had flew from her mind. He was standing next to the bed, shirtless and wearing loose black track pants. The epitome of dark and cool and mysterious. With a body that could have been carved from stone. Then all her questions came flooding back into her mind and she sat up.

            ‘Where am I? How is this possible?’ He watched her closely as he sat down beside her.

            ‘It is one of my gifts.’

            ‘You have gifts. Do you have any more gifts?’

            ‘Yes, like Readers I work with the elements. I can enter people’s dreams, I can astral project, among other things.’

            ‘What do you mean elements like Readers?’ He seemed surprised that I was asking that.

            ‘Do you not have an element that you work with to enhance your Reading abilities?’

            ‘No, I don’t. Readers don’t have elemental gifts; my mother doesn’t have one.’ She slid off the bed to stand and started pacing. He watched her.

            ‘All Readers, have extra gifts, you all have heightened senses, strength and speed as well as an elemental.’ Lacy stared at the man on the bed. How could it be that in such a short amount of time her life was not what she thought.

            ‘She lied to me, my whole life.’ Lacy felt disconnected, untethered from her body as she kept pacing, something to ground her.

            ‘I can teach you how to use your gifts. I can teach you what I know about Readers, the Academy. I will tell you what I can about Others as well. If you wish.’

            She rushed to the bed. Finally, some answers. ‘Yes, please.’ He laughed at her response, her excitement to learn.

            ‘Okay, tell me where you are most comfortable. In water, by the fire, in your garden or in the mountains with the wind in your hair.’

            Lacy sat on the bed. No one place was that for her. ‘I love the beach.’

            Tony smiled. ‘You have more than one gift then.’

            ‘How do you know?’

            ‘You feel the breeze, the heat from the sun, water rushing around you and the sand beneath your feet. It almost seems as though you are connected to all.’ He furrowed his brow.

            ‘Is that strange?’ He tilted his head as though trying to get a better look at her.

            ‘Yes. For most things, especially wards, like those around the academy, you require all four elements. It usually needs four different sources to obtain that. It is rare that someone might hold two affinities, but you may have all four. That is more than rare, it is unheard of.’ He continued to watch her; she became uncomfortable under his glare. It felt like he was reading her soul.

            ‘Will you still teach me?’

            ‘Of course, I will help you however I can.’

            ‘Thank you.’

            ‘Here, sit on the bed.’ He reached his hand toward her. They both sat facing each other. ‘Close your eyes.’ She did so as he took both her hands. ‘Take a deep breath, what is the first element that comes to mind.’

            She took a long deep breath. As she breathed out a breeze wrapped around her, lifting her hair around her face.

            She opened her eyes. Tony was smiling. ‘Air.’

            ‘Yes. It came easy so we start with that one.’

            ‘I still don’t understand why nothing has ever happened before and why is it easier here.’

            ‘This place is of my own making, my own power. Anything is possible here. It will be easier in this place than the real world. It will be harder out there, but the basics remain the same.’

            ‘Hmm, okay.’

            ‘Though if no one has mentioned these gifts to you before, it might be safer to not tell anyone about them just yet. Learn to master them here with me and when you are ready you can make them answer your questions.’

            She wasn’t really listening to him, more so focused on the breeze around her head. She felt her hair float around head. She focused on the breeze to make it expand away from. It reached for Tony and his flitted around. Then the curtains around the bed. It soon began expanding around her, whipping pages through the books on the bedside table. Lacy started to panic as the wind increased.

            ‘Breathe Lacy. Imagine yourself pulling it back to you.’ She took a deep breath and felt as though she inhaled the breeze. It took a few breaths for the wind to die down.

            ‘That was amazing.’ Lacy felt different. Lighter, stronger. Tony looked at her with pride.

            ‘That was spectacular Lacy. Shall we try another.’

            ‘Yes.’ Tony stared deep into her eyes and reached his hand towards her.

            ‘Your eyes, they have turned silver.’ She blinked.

            ‘How?’

            ‘They are back to normal now. I’m not sure. I haven’t seen a Reader use her magic up close like that.’

            She had never seen her eyes turn another colour other than the black she had seen a couple of times. Something was definitely changing in her. The weekend she was sick. That had done something to her.

            ‘I was sick a few days ago, is it possible that changed something in me?’

            ‘Humans often get sick; I wouldn’t think it would make a difference.’

            ‘No, I never get sick. This is the first time in my life that I have been sick.’

            Tony watched her for a moment, pondering the possibility.

            ‘Perhaps. But I don’t know how you could find something like that out.’

            She shook herself out, ‘no, that couldn’t be it.’

            ‘Would you like to try another gift?’ Her eye lit up.

            ‘Yes.’

            He took her hand and pulled her to the bathroom. The bathroom was huge. The bath could fit at least two people, and it sat under a window with a view over the greenest valley she had ever seen. There was a large shower in the corner and a couple of very big sinks and a toilet tucked away.

            It was all black white and silver with a few touches of green around. With plants hanging in the sunlight. It was her dream bathroom. He had even added candles on as many surfaces as he could.

            ‘Come, stand in the shower. That way if we get water everywhere at least it won’t be hard to clean up.’ She laughed. Considering she had never tried something like this, who knew what was likely to happen.

            ‘What do I need to do?’

            ‘Similar to air but think about water. All beings have a little water in them try to link to that. Think about pooling some water in your palm.’

            ‘Okay.’ She held her hands out in front of her, palms up. She closed her eyes and thought about the water that was currently around her. But nothing responded. She tried to think harder. It didn’t do anything other than give her a headache.

            She opened her eyes and shook out her hand.

            ‘Let’s try something else.

            He walked to the basin and filled it with some water. She followed him and watched for a moment. He placed his hand in the water, then lifted it out. A few drops feel from his hand until they moved back up and into his palm. All the water collecting together. Then it rose and turned into a sphere. Once it formed it started to slowly turn. With the light streaming through the window, it lit up the room in rainbows. It was beautiful. Even the mirror had taken on the reflection of the colours.

            Lacy couldn’t stop herself from walking to the mirror. Her hand reached out towards it. A glimmer of her on a bed appeared. It was her bedroom. She leaned forward to get a better look, but Tony grabbed her wrist and turned her back to him.

            ‘You need to master your elements. Come, lets practice.’

            ‘Hmm.’ She felt a pull to that mirror. A reflection of her in the real world perhaps. Once Tony had her focused back on the water, she forgot about the mirror and what she saw.

            She held out her hand to his. He had reformed the sphere in his hand. Lacy watched it slowly turn. She wondered if she could call a single drop to her hand.

            Watching the sphere, she took a deep breath and imagined a drop coming out of the sphere to her hand. On her next breath, a drop came from the sphere to her. She gasped.

            ‘I did it.’ Tony smiled with pride, closed his hand, and the sphere dissipated.

            ‘Well done. But I think that is enough for tonight.’ He took her hand and led her back to the bedroom. She looked back for a moment to the mirror. But saw nothing except the reflection of the bathroom.

            All thoughts disappeared as Tony stood in front of her and removed his clothing. She watched him hungrily. He was a beautiful man. Each muscle as though it had been carved from stone. His eyes a bright, like they had been painted in. Every part of him was perfect. Even the scars his body wore told his story with a strength and elegance to it.

            She stepped forward and fell to her knees in front of him. She placed her hand around his cock and gently stroked it. The longer she spent with the that the harder it got. When a drop of precum leaked from the tip she licked it, swallowing his salty taste from her tongue. He shivered at the action, and she smiled in response before closing her lips around the end and sucking it into her mouth. This time he groaned as his hands tightened in her hair.

            It wasn’t long until she felt his body tighten before he released into her mouth. She swallowed as much as she could, wiping what remained around her lips.

            He pulled her up into an embrace and breathed into her neck. She hummed. But he wasn’t done. He pushed her back on to the bed before lifting her night gown and spreading her thighs wide. She knew she was already wet; she could feel it.

            When he leaned down, he hummed against her pussy, nipping her inner thigh before moving straight to her clit. He knew exactly what he was doing. As soon as he inserted a finger into her, she knew it wouldn’t take long for her own release.

            As she cried out, he continued to lick up her juices as she rode her orgasm. Once it slowed, he climbed back up the bed and kissed her neck. He pulled her to his chest and that was how they fell asleep. Bothe satiated and bodies entwined.

            The next morning Lacy woke with a start. She was back in her room and again, no sign of Tony. These nocturnal activities were the strangest thing she had ever experienced, and she had grown up knowing there was more to this world than humans knew.

            There was no way they wouldn’t affect her say to day life. But she pushed through, hoping for the best. She rose and made coffee, stronger than normal and fed the cats. Both were unnervingly quiet. They were usually quite vocal in the morning. Perhaps they weren’t sleeping properly either. 

            What she needed was to get to work and have a conversation with her Helen about these dreams. Her mother was keeping secrets and Lacy hoped that Helen wasn’t or would at least answer her questions.

            She dressed in a simple blue dress and grey cardigan. When she put the dress on, she noticed she had lost some weight. It wasn’t odd, but unusually. Perhaps it had been the fever she’d had. She sighed, grabbed her bag and made her way to the bus stop. It was going to be a long day.

            Lacy got off at her usual bus stop, it felt much cooler today and she wrapped the cardigan tight around herself. She was almost asleep again and bought another coffee. By the time she got to her desk she was starting to feel a bit better and sent a message to Helen to see if she had time for her today.

            After she sent the message, there was an email waiting for her from Mr Lancaster, he wanted to see her in his office. She internally groaned, drank more of her coffee before heading up to his office.

            Mr Lancaster’s office was on the 12th floor, up the top. There was no one in the elevator, in the silence of the moment she heard a quiet buzzing in her ears, like white noise. It was unusual, but she had bouts of tinnitus over the years.

            There was a lot of noise when the doors opened. There were more people up here than normal and they were all looking for something.

            ‘Oh, Lacy, thank goodness.’ Cherry grabbed her arm and pulled her to her desk.

            ‘What is going on?’ Cherry shook her head.

            ‘Something happened with the merger between Mortal Holdings and Realing Ltd.’

            ‘What do you mean? I thought the paperwork had been signed. Everything seemed to be finished at the last meeting.’ Lacy was truly surprised. She had sensed nothing from anyone in them meeting. They all seemed as eager as each other for it to go ahead. Cherry shrugged.

            ‘Mr Lancaster is livid. He wants to see you asap. I suggest you go right in. Try and talk him down maybe.’ Cherry was radiating hope and fear all at the same time. It wasn’t the first time she had sensed something like this and expecting her to fix it.

            Lacy took a breath before knocking on the door.

            ‘Come in.’ Lacy opened the door and stepped into the office. It was not like usually. There were files piled on the desk and multiple books opened surrounding them.

            ‘Finally, where have you been.’ He was angry. She had never sensed him this angry. ‘What happened, why didn’t you warn us?’ He was glaring at her. ‘Useless, why did we even hire her.’ It took her a moment to realise the last he said in his mind. Clearly his emotions were projecting now. No wonder her ears were buzzing, and she would probably have a headache by the end of the day.

            ‘I sensed nothing from any of them. They were all very happy with the merger. Both parties, eager to settle. There was nothing else to report on any of them.’ She tried to be as calm as she could. Though the emotions of the people outside were starting to press in. Something was wrong. Mergers had failed before and there was this much anger. She pushed her senses out and felt and blank space. She turned; there was an Other in the building. This was wrong, they couldn’t change emotions or even enhance like this.

            ‘How could you have sensed nothing? You obviously aren’t as good at your job as we thought. You’re fired.’ Lacy snapped forward.

            ‘What?’ She almost laughed.

            ‘You heard me, you are fired. Please leave this building. I will be notified when you do, so don’t think about staying.’

            ‘But, Mr Lancaster, I have been here for years, and you have never not trusted my thoughts.’ She was grasping now. She couldn’t lose this job.

            ‘Well, it seems, your time has come. And for something so important. I can’t have a mistake like this again. Please leave now and I won’t call security.’

            Lacy just stood there. This was not okay, none of this was her fault. She had done her job. She was angry now and ready to fight for her job. Then Mr Lancaster looked up at her with a look she hoped she would never see again and went to pick up the phone. She scrambled and got out of the office.

            ‘Lacy, what happened.?

            ‘I have no idea, but I have to go. I’ve been fired.’ She didn’t wait for Cherry’s response. She just left and made her way to her desk. She logged out. Grabbed her few small possessions, her coffee and just left, without a word to anyone. It was the cold air on her face that woke her up enough to realise she had managed to get outside the building.

            ‘Now what,’ she asked herself. Her phone rang as though in answer.

            ‘I saw what happened, come to my shop.’ Helen hung up again without giving Lacy a chance to say anything. She just started walking towards Helen’s shop. It was nice to be outside in the cool air. It woke her up and cleared her mind some.

            She ran through the last meeting of the merger, trying to think through every moment. She found nothing. There was nothing to suggest there was an issue. It had to be the Other in the building.

            Lacy stopped walking, the Other. She should have looked for them. Try to figure out what they had done and why. Perhaps confronted them. She shook her head and kept walking. That would not have ended very well. She was only just learning about her powers and it’s not like she could have had a physical fight with someone in the office without anyone noticing. She went back to the meeting until she arrived at Helens.

            As soon as she walked in the door she could smell Helen’s choc chip cookies baking, and coffee brewing. All the smells of her childhood. Helen walked in with a smile. But Lacy wasn’t happy.

            ‘Why did no one tell me I had elemental powers?’ Helen stopped, mouth opened, closed her eyes, took and breath and looked back to Lacy.

            ‘I told your mother she needed to tell you everything about your gifts.’

            ‘What, you knew too?’ Helen sighed.

            ‘Yes, it is why she kept you from the academy. She didn’t want them to find out about your powers. She also didn’t want you to find out you had these powers dormant within you.’

            ‘She lied; you lied.’

            ‘Not exactly.’ Lacy crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

            ‘To protect me.’

            ‘Yes. The Leadership will sense your use. They can track magic. They have an oracle who sees it. They will know all about you if you have used them.’ Helen watched her.

            ‘I used them in a dream, guided by someone. But I could still feel a lingering of the power when I woke up.’ Helen frowned.

            ‘Tell me exactly.’

            ‘Tony has been visiting me in my dreams. Last night he told me I have elemental powers, all Readers have an element. Others have the same gifts. He showed me last night.’

            Helen was almost afraid. Lacy had never seen her like this. ‘He shouldn’t be in your dreams.’

            ‘Well, he is and he told me about my powers when it should have been my mother, years ago.’

            ‘What element did you use?’

            ‘Air and water.’

            ‘Two elements, okay, powerful but I have seen more.’

            ‘I felt fire and earth lingering, but we only practiced with the first two.’

            Helen sat. ‘Oh, okay. When I never saw you use any powers your mother and I assumed they weren’t powerful to break through on their own and they would stay hidden. But they are coming out now. All these Others around are changing you. Bringing something out in you we didn’t expect.’

            ‘Why keep everything from me. Why stop me from going to the academy?’

            ‘Your mother suspected you were powerful. She didn’t want the Leadership to take you away and turn you into one of them.’

            ‘Okay, I understand that but why lie.’

            ‘She really did just want to protect.’

            ‘How can I have all this power if my father is human?’

            ‘I don’t know child. Only your mother can answer that. But she is also more powerful than any on the Leadership. She was supposed to be a member. Something changed when she attended the academy and she turned her back on everything.’

            ‘Now what?’

            ‘What happened today?’

            ‘Oh, I got fired. There was an Other at the office messing with everyone’s emotions and got me fired.’

            Helen stood and looked to the door. She almost ran to it and locked the door, changed the sign to closed and closed all the blinds.

            ‘Upstairs, now.’

            ‘What?’ Helen was pushing her now.

            ‘I’ll explain, but I need you safe and I need to call your mother.’

            ‘Why?’ Lacy had stopped on the stairs.

            ‘I promise I will explain, but I need to strengthen my wards on this shop. Go upstairs and wait.’ Lacy sighed and continued up to the small apartment upstairs.