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As a result, the people in the hills survived, and seven children were born from the arrangement. Their descendants were Stormdusts, a mix of the elves and powerful mages. Marriage between them was taboo, because their children were already powerful enough. Marriage between them was supposed to result in children who were barely human enough to act, well, human. Or so powerful that they went crazy. Which, unfortunately, sometimes happened, but not always.
As a result, fearing for what would happen to me if people found out that I was the product of two Stormdust descendants, my parents ran from their people when they learned she was pregnant with me.
I was born, not the least bit crazy; they were happy, but then something happened that changed everything.
My memories are strange when it came to that day, disjointed and confusing. Mama was screaming for Ethan, a man I viewed as my uncle. He went to her, and then he was screaming too. There was a fire. I remember that very clearly. But Ethan arrived too late to save my parents.
Memories of lightning, shrieks, and dead people… flashed in my mind, but I couldn’t make much sense of them. Nor did I think I wanted to. Trying to remember hurt too much.
“So, you’re just a regular person?” The girl asked.
I smiled and shrugged. “More or less.”
Although, that wasn’t entirely true either. It was just more than enough for her to know.
Then, I forced myself to focus on the present. “What can I do to help?”
“Do you have food?” The boy asked, his voice hopeful.
“Yup. It’s our lucky day,” I told him with a wink.
And I was more than glad to share, so I opened my pack and found a place to dump it out. Rations from my bag made a nice pile on the table. I saved the minimum for the rest of my journey. I’d survive.
Tally nodded toward the oldest girl. “We have some stew cooking. We’ll be glad to share if you do.”
“Of course,” I said.
Suddenly, two of the small children began to fight. From one moment to the next, a young boy was having a full-blown tantrum. The older boy instantly went to him, trying to soothe him, but the kid wouldn’t have it.
Familiar worry pricked at me; My own son, Dmitri, was powerful, so powerful that Robert had trouble containing him in a full tantrum. I needed to get us both back home, to Kalderon, and not waste more time on this mission than I had to. I needed to keep working to figure out a way to free myself from the geas before my son grew to be an adult. Before the guild could use my son as a weapon or a stud for the next generation.
Finally, the older boy managed to calm the toddler. And the little kid stood up, sniffing, and headed outside with the other child. I was glad he was feeling better, but missed my son even more.
“Ms. Stormdust? You look upset.” Tally offered me some of the gruel bubbling on the stove.
“Thank you,” I said, taking the bowl, then glanced at the two young kids as she returned to the stove to scoop up more of the food.
Generosity should go to those who deserved it. From the range of appearance among the children, these two had gathered any survivors from families up and down the trail, defending them here. It also explained why there’d been no real food at the previous farms. They’d acted with more kindness and presence of mind than adults I’d encountered.
“And, kid?”
“Yes?” He asked, looking a little worried.
“All the food I put on the table, you guys can keep it.”
He looked stunned. “Are you sure?”
I smiled. Polite and generous. This kid was a good one. “Of course.”
The young girl came up, drying her hands on her apron. She looked tired, and her dark hair was unkempt. “We should have everyone come in. It’s getting dark,” she told the boy.
He nodded, then turned to me. “I’m Shay, by the way. And I know we’re a bit of a mess, but we’re doing our best to keep everyone safe.”
“You’re doing a good job,” I told him proudly.
All the kids piled inside, filling up the place. Except, it didn’t feel too crowded… it just felt like a nice, safe place to spend the night. Everyone talked and laughed as they ate together, feeling more like a family than most of the families I’d seen over the years. After supper, which was more thickened gruel with bits of rabbit chopped in, the children settled in their places on blankets on the floor.
These kids deserved better. If I could let the right people know what was going on, maybe I could improve their situation.
