Izzy jolted awake when she felt the truck stop. She hadn't realized how exhausted she was from her vision until now. Plus, she had a sinking feeling that whatever her friends were about to tell her would throw off her whole life. Snow's fingers haven't been still since they took off from the ice cream place, bouncing rhythmically off her knee. Aarushi tried to appear calm but she had kept glancing up at Izzy's sleeping reflection in her rearview mirror.
They all stepped out on to the grass and made their way to face each other. Izzy glanced around at the clearing they had stopped in, "Okay, we're alone. Now, tell me what the hell is going on?"
Snow glanced at Aarushi and sighed heavily, "I don't know where you want us to start,"
Izzy rolled her eyes, "Let's start with why Aarushi looked like a shimmering fairy and go from there,"
Snow mumbled, "That's offensive,"
Aarushi's hand came up and clasped around the back of her neck, "Iz, I'm not sure you-"
Izzy raised a brow, silently telling her to shut up.
Aarushi sighed, "You asked for this," she leaned back on the hood of her truck and crossed her arms. After a silent minute, she locked eyes with Izzy and began, "Iz, if I tell you, you have to promise me not to freak out,"
Izzy chuckled nervously but the sound trailed off as she saw the somber glint in her best friend's eyes.
"Promise me, Isabel,"
Izzy's mouth felt dry as she answered, "I promise,"
Aarushi tilted her head back and glanced at the sky, "Have you ever heard of Elves, Izzy?"
Izzy sputtered, unsure laughter coming out, "Uh, yes, I guess,"
Aarushi rolled her eyes, "Not Christmas elves, you doofus," Izzy got control of herself as she went on, "Cliff notes version is that there are two supernatural classes of Elves. The Light Elves draw from the Light and are supposed to live to serve the Fae. Then, there are the Dark Elves that draw from the Other and serve no one," Aarushi gave Izzy a meaningful look as she slowly rolled up her long sleeves to reveal the intricate tattoos that flowed across her skin. As Izzy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped, Aarushi continued talking.
"To gain magic, the Elves carve their clan's unique markings on their skin to help get the power from the Light. And when the power is being used it can look, to the untrained eye, as if we are glowing,"
Izzy hesitantly stepped forward, afraid to see the evidence of what Aarushi was saying. Aarushi held out an arm for her to study, watching Izzy's reaction carefully. The designs from a distance looked only like regular tattoos but the closer she got, the more she could see they were deep gouges that ran deeper than any scar Izzy had ever seen. The cuts were deep into Aarushi's skin but it didn't look like a normal cut or scab. The edges were charred as if the blade was hot as it marked her arm. 'Burn marks,' Izzy thought, shuddering from the image of pain in her mind.
'How can anyone survive doing that to themselves?'
"So, you're..." Izzy breathed.
"A Light Elf, yes," Aarushi hesitated then seemed to make a decision, "I can show you. To prove it,"
Izzy watched as Aarushi tried to mask her feelings. Her desperation for Izzy to believe her was clearly evident from her pleading eyes.
"Okay," Izzy said, her voice just above a whisper. Even though at the time she was only half-conscious and she was still a bit fuzzy after her vision, she still remembered the light around Aarushi as almost ethereal, like an angel.
'This is crazy. This shouldn't be happening,'
Aarushi clutched at her shirt and swiftly took it off. She looked at Izzy's shocked face and winked, her mask falling back onto her face. "It interferes and I rather not catch my shirt on fire today," she explained.
Snow took a step back away from Aarushi. Her back straightened as she stood to her full height of a little over six feet, her sports bra clad body taut with defined muscles that were marred with the beautifully painful cuts that ran up both arms and met at her shoulders. The markings traveled down her chest and split down her sides. Her dark tan skin shone in the golden light of the setting sun. She breathed out a long breath, closed her eyes, and said a few words under her breath. Suddenly, the air around her changed, pulsing as light emanated from within her. Izzy felt it as her friend slowly unleashed her full power. The air was charged with something unfamiliar but Izzy somehow knew deep down that the feeling was the Light Aarushi had mentioned. Slowly, the markings started glowing, starting from her neck and traveling down. Her long hair whipped around her, moved by nonexistent wind and her glow brightened. Her ears morphed, forming a sharp point.
Then, the power pulsed through the air one last time and retreated back into her, although the glow remained. Her hair settled but now it was a startling white against her dark skin. She opened her eyes and instead of the twinkling brown eyes Izzy was so used to, her eyes had changed to an icy white, almost blending in completely with the whites of her eyes.
Izzy was speechless. Words tried to escape her gaping mouth but the sound refused to come out. She had almost lost her footing when the first wave of power ran through the air but after the first few seconds, she settled and an odd sense of familiarity grew in her. She was snapped out of her awe at the worried look on Aarushi's face.
"Are you okay?" Snow spoke up, the first words she had said in the past ten minutes.
Izzy nodded quickly, strangely very okay with all that had just happened.
'But, then again, maybe I am in shock and it's going to hit me all later,'
Aarushi let out a sigh of relief and looked towards Snow, brushing back her long, now white, hair, "Your turn Snow,"
Izzy braced herself for whatever impossible feat Snow would undoubtedly show.
'If she turns into an animal, I'm leaving,' Izzy thought, not ready to see her friend turn furry just yet.
Snow's dreamy blue eyes bored into hers, "I should probably just show you first,"
She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. This time, a different type of energy filled the air. Her power wasn't as aggressive as Aarushi's. Her's was warm as it subtly brushed against Izzy's skin. Small green, leafy tendrils snaked down Snow's arm, wrapping around like decorative snakes, stopping at her palms. Her clothes shimmered and then a veil seemed to fall away, revealing a leather halter top with two straps wrapping around her midsection. Her tight leather shorts were covered by an armored skirt that split in the middle to provide her more room to move. Two longswords were strapped to her back, the brown hilts catching the light of the sun.
Izzy almost spoke, thinking Snow was done with her transformations when she saw something that took her breath away. Reflecting the light from the sun behind Snow's shoulder were beautiful wings. They were almost transparent, only barely visible unless you were looking for them. She had two sets, one on top and one at the bottom, and they fluttered delicately in the slight breeze.
"Wow," Izzy breathed out, her already muddled brain buzzing with overstimulation. Her friends' unguarded power swam through the air around her, both distinct in how they felt.
Aarushi tapped Snow's arm, smiling slightly, "I think we broke her,"
Snow laughed, her normally blue eyes shining unnaturally bright.
Izzy held up a hand, "Normally, I would say something smart back, but my mind is still buffering," She took in a deep breath, "So let me get this straight," She pointed at Aarushi, "You're an elf from the Light or whatever, and you're a pixie?"
Aarushi cackled while Snow growled, her blue eyes gaining a dangerous glint and her wings flushed with a deep red, "I am not a pixie," She sniffed haughtily, "I am a fairy, not some kind of insufferable pest,"
Aarushi grinned as her glow crackled around her in excitement, "Fairies take high offense to being called pixies," she informed a flushing Izzy.
Snow huffed and Izzy grimaced, "Sorry, Snow,"
A thought hit Izzy and before she could dwell on it too much, she asked, "But how does that affect my vision?"
Snow's eyes widened as her indignation drained out of her. She glanced warily at Aarushi who had the same reaction, "What do you mean, your vision?"
Izzy recounted what she saw earlier, including the man who held fire, the large wolf, and the bejeweled woman. Snow and Aarushi grew more bewildered the more Izzy talked but she didn't stop. Couldn't stop. Everything she had been seeing from the past month came spewing out; her dreams of falling and screaming as the light above her slowly disappeared, her dreams of being cold and shivering in the dark alone, her sounds echoed off the jagged faces of the rock that surrounded her. When she finally finished, she took a few deep breaths as her friends digested the information.
"So... you've seen us like this? What about the others? Do you know them?" Aarushi asked borderline demanded.
Izzy nodded, "I've seen both of you in this form before. But I don't know about the others. The only one I know I've seen is Drake,"
Aarushi's whole body stiffened at his name and Snow shot concerned looks at her.
Izzy internally rolled her eyes, 'They're going to have to try to hide their reactions better or my anxiety is going to go from high to skyscraper levels'
"What's Drake have to do with any of this?" Izzy asked, sensing that the afternoon of great revelations might not yet be over.
Aarushi shrugged, still looking tense, "We don't exactly know what 'this' is, Iz," She made a vague gesture in Izzy's direction, not answering the question.
Izzy swallowed, "So because I have these visions, I could be like you?"
Snow shook her head, "Not like us. There's only a handful of supernatural beings that have the ability of Sight,"
"Unless..." Aarushi trailed off, giving Snow a meaningful look that Izzy couldn't decipher.
Snow raised an eyebrow, her wings fluttering behind her, "Seriously? You believe that old fairy tale?"
Aarushi shrugged again but Izzy could see the excited gleam in her eye, "Every fairy tale has a true origin,"
Snow glanced at Izzy, "But do you really think that after all this time, they're going to manifest in some small town in Arizona? Plus, that race has been extinct for several centuries,"
Izzy cut Aarushi off before she could respond, a little annoyed they were talking about her like she wasn't there, "What the hell are you guys talking about? Is it the same as that general lady?"
Surprise painted both Aarushi and Snow's face. It was Aarushi who spoke first, "Your vision... spoke to you?"
Izzy rubbed her hands down her arm in discomfort. In her mind, if she told them, it solidified everything that had been revealed to her and she wasn't sure that was a good thing.
"I'm not entirely sure that she was a part of my vision. I've never been able to interact with the people I've seen before," she explained softly.
Snow let out a gasp while Aarushi paced back and forth. Snow's blue eyes were looking at Izzy like she had never seen her before and Aarushi was muttering in a language she couldn't understand. Their strange behavior scared Izzy more than anything they had shown her.
"What's wrong?" She asked hesitantly.
"What you're talking about is impossible for someone who is human. There are human Seers, of course, but I've never heard of a human being able to Project," Snow tried to explain. Snow's hands moved as she got more excited while talking, her wings fluttering rapidly behind her, "Projection is a rare ability. Only a few species can do it and they're all Elementals. The simple version is that it's a projection of your consciousness into someone else's, opening up a line of communication. It's a bit like telepathy,"
Izzy was speechless, not knowing how to respond.
'What am I supposed to say? Thanks, Snow for revealing I may possibly be something other than human?'
Thankfully, Aarushi cut in before she said anything stupid, "What time is it?"
Caught off guard by the random question, Izzy and Snow just stood there staring at her bewildered.
Aarushi rolled her eyes and walked over to Izzy. Her magic was still pulsing from her, getting gradually stronger as she got closer. Izzy hater herself when her first instinct was to run. 'She's your friend, stupid' she scolded herself, 'So what if she's a supernatural Light Elf now, she's still Aarushi,'. She took Izzy's arm and looked at her watch.
"8:47," she muttered, "Okay, Snow and I'll have to stay with you for the next three hours and fifty-three minutes to make sure you stay out of trouble,"
Izzy scoffed, a brow raised at the extremely specific timer, "And why exactly are y'all going to do that? I'm not a child,"
Aarushi's eyes shone with a kind of excitement that sent a thrill down Izzy's spine, "Because at midnight tonight when you turn eighteen, if I'm correct, we'll be the witnesses to the first Ancient Elemental transformation in over seven hundred years and the first Final Prophecy will begin," she smiled at Izzy, her eyes shining with the same crackling energy that whipped around her, "With you as the Chosen One,"
And with that knowledge bomb dropped on her, Izzy's brain promptly decided this was too much, then appropriately passed out for the second time that day as the roar of an approaching vehicle filled her ears.