Back in Garrett's house, the two changelings that approached us at the café are sitting on Garrett's couch.
"What the hell is going on?" I ask Garrett while we're standing in the kitchen.
"You've got me there. I've never heard of something like this. It must be programmed in them to find their king."
"I don't want to be their king. I don't want to be anyone's king. I just want to survive to be able to finish high school."
"Oh yeah, about that. Meant to tell you, you had enough credits to graduate early, so Josh put all the paperwork through for you. Congratulations, graduate."
I groan. "I kinda wanted to graduate on my own." I tell him in a deadpan.
"Well, that's not exactly an option."
A knock on the front door interrupts our conversation. We walk out of the kitchen past the living room to the front door. The two on the couch start to get up to follow us. I pin them with a scowl. They must have some semblance of self-preservation because they sit back down without saying anything.
Garrett and I reach the front door and look through the window. Alexis is standing outside, looking very harried. I look at Garrett, a questioning look on my face. He shrugs, clearly just as confused as I am. He opens the door.
"Good, you're here." Alexis doesn't wait for an invitation to enter; he just walks in and heads to the living room. He stops short when he sees the two guys on the couch. They, again, start to rise. Another look from me stops them. Alexis turns towards us and jerks his thumb at the two changelings.
"Changelings?" he asks us.
"Yeah. How'd you know?" Garrett responds.
"That's what I'm here about. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"
"Yeah, we'll go upstairs."
"Hey," I snap at the ones on the couch. "You guys stay here. Don't touch anything. Don't do anything. Do not get up from the couch." Perhaps I'm being a little too harsh, but I didn't ask these guys to come here and expose the fact that I'm descended from royalty.
"Yes, my liege," they answer in unison. I groan again and follow Garrett and Alexis up the stairs.
As soon as we're in the bedroom upstairs, I turn to Alexis.
"Okay. You obviously know something about what's going on. Spill."
"Yeah, so, my mother had another vision of you, Garrett. It has to do with the last one she had."
"I told Cal all about it. You can speak freely in front of him."
"Okay. That'll make it easier. So, apparently, she wasn't going to have the vision until you found your mate. Which is why it took a century for it to hit her. Once you found the one from the first half of her vision, the second half would present itself."
"Well, if there's any doubt that the vision meant you, Cal, you can see that it did. Mrs. Corey wouldn't have had the second half if you weren't the one."
"Okay. Okay. So, what did it say?"
"Hawk's flight
Eagles fight
Change is now
Young king matures
Storm Moon's bright
The wolf's might
By the tiger's claw
And the grizzly's paw
Young king towers
Old king draws blood
Dragons fly
End is neigh"
"What the hell does that mean?" I ask
"It's a prophecy. They never make sense."
"Then how the hell did you know the last one was about me?"
"I didn't. Not right away. I only knew after we'd met. Then everything made sense."
"Great, so we just wait till the end of time and then we'll know." I reply sarcastically.
"Well, I think we might be able to figure out parts of it. Change, I believe, is referring to changelings. The king of changelings is alive. And, Cal, I'm thinking that may just be you. It would explain why you're the first changeling to come to this town ever."
I exchange a look with Garrett. Alexis doesn't miss it.
"You are, aren't you."
"Yeah. I'm apparently the king of changelings."
"That would mean that you can recall what happens during the change." I nod my head, but don't say anything. "It would also mean that once you hit 18, you'll be much stronger than any other changeling."
This time I look at him, puzzled. He continues, "According to lore, since that's all we have to go off of, the king of changelings is the strongest of them since they are descended from the first changelings. It was how the changelings kept their subjects in order. Unlike other species, changelings are known to be aggressive and uncontrollable. So, their king needed to be able to keep his crown. This was done two ways, strength and, exactly what those two are doing downstairs, subjugation."
"My birthday is in two months, March 9th." I tell them. Garrett pulls out his phone and looks something up.
"The Storm Moon is the full moon of March. It rises on March 9th." He looks up from his phone to meet my eyes. Before any of us can say anything further, we hear a commotion on the front lawn. I run to the window and look down.
"Oh. My. Gods." I exclaim. "You guys wouldn't believe what's going on outside." They both look at each other and then rush to my side. They look outside.
"Holy shit!" they both exclaim together. On the lawn outside there are around twenty or thirty people of all size, shape, and color milling about. We all rush to the door and downstairs. Garrett is the fastest of course, since he's a vampire. I'm second down the stairs with Alexis trailing behind.
I don't even bother to tell the two on the couch to sit as we race past. They get up and follow us.
Garrett wrenches open the door and the five of us rush out onto the porch.
The minute I step out, the buzz of talking ceases. The sudden quiet makes me halt. All at once, the changelings on the lawn kneel down just like the two did at the café, one knee down, one knee up and the right arm draped across the right knee with their heads down.
"What the..." I whisper. Garrett elbows me in the ribs and nods to the two that were in the house with us. They are to my left, their pose exactly like those on the lawn. He leans over to me and whispers in my ear, "Say something profound."
I look out over the mass gathered on Garrett's front lawn, and I say the only thing that comes to mind, "What in the shit is going on here?"
Garrett and Alexis bust out laughing.
"I meant a little more profound than that, but I guess that sums it up pretty well," Garrett comments between laughs.
"My lord?" a voice from the middle of the hoard speaks up.
"What?" I snap.
"That's not very kingly," Alexis teases me. I glare at him, but it has no effect on him.
A figure stands up from the middle of the group gathered.
"My lord, we have all traveled from all over to be of service to the true King of Changelings. Our kind has been kept in the shadows for far too long. Now you, my liege, will lead us to where we belong." I recognize the figure finally. It's Patrick, from school.
"Patrick? What the hell? Come here." He jumps as though I slapped him. He hurries to clamber over the other changelings towards me. We hear a lot of protesting as he uses the others to make his way forward. I look at Garrett and lift one eyebrow. He shrugs.
"Patrick, what's going on?" I ask him once he's in front of me. Before speaking, he keels down in the same position as the others.
"For fuck's sake. Get up dammit." I growl angrily. He stands, but his head is still bowed.
Alexis leans over towards me to whisper in my ear. "You know, most people would love to have a ton of loyal followers who kneel before them."
"Yeah? Well, I'm not one of them." I shoot back. Then to Patrick I say, "Now, you've never been one to bow to anyone, let alone me. So, why don't you explain what this is all about."
"Yes, my lord."
"And don't call me that."
"Yes, sir." I groan.
"Might as well get used to it," Garrett tells me. I groan again.
"Patrick?"
"Yes, well, I'm not fully certain. I've been bullying you for years, but then one day I woke up and it was like I had to respect you. I had to bow to you. It was like I didn't have a choice. Even now, standing here like this, I feel that I should be keeling. To be honest, I hate it."
"Yeah, I can understand that." I answer dryly.
"Sorry, your highness, but it's true. It's not just a voice in my head, though that's there too. It's like breathing, I don't have a choice, I just do it."
I turn to Garrett and Alexis. "Is that how it is for all species? Blind obedience?"
"No. It seems to be only with changelings." Garrett answers.
"It's like I said before, it has to do with the unpredictability of changelings. They needed to be kept in line somehow. It must have been written into their DNA millennia ago," Alexis adds.
"Wonderful." I reply sarcastically.
"Sir? What would you like us to do?" Patrick asks me.
"Garrett, is there some place that they can all stay? Some place, preferably, that they won't be noticed for a while. I can't imagine what your father would say to a bunch of changelings in town if he freaked about me."
"Well, the building your place is in belongs to me. We could set them up there. It'd be crowded, but they would largely go unnoticed there. Then, if you want, you could stay with me. That would give them more room." It's the first time he looks like he's expecting an answer he doesn't want to hear. Almost like he's embarrassed.
"I'd really like that." I told him, grabbing his hands. He brings his face up to look me in the eyes. He smiles, widely. I clear my throat that all of a sudden clogged up. "But what are we going to do when they all turn in a few weeks? And do you really think your dad won't notice a few dozen extra people around town?"
"I might have a thought on the transformations," Alexis chimes in, "but I don't know for certain. I'll have to check out a few things."
"As far as my father is concerned, I wouldn't worry about it. Though we may want to talk to the sheriff."
"Right, he asked me a while ago to stop by his office at some point soon. I guess this is as good as any other time."