Sapphire
I was driving behind Delilah following her to The Stones's mansion. The big gate opened automatically and we drove through the long pathway before parking in front of the house.
I came out of the car looking round the compound, it's being a long time since I have been here. I remembered living here when I was eight years till fifteen, it was one of the worst time of my life.
All members of the Stone are taught how to master their abilities from a very tender age. But I started my training from age eight when my father took me away from my mom.
What triggered the urgency was when my elder sister Annie died from a shimmering gone wrong. Annie was a very powerful pure blooded siren, didn't share any mermaid abilities like me. My sister was very good at shimmering to the extent that she didn't have to try to shimmer. It was more like a subconscious instinct in her.
Our paternal grandmother Anastasia prevented he r from going out, from doing anything like dating or making friends. She was homeschooled, infact all the children of The Stone's family were homeschooled.
Though Grandma Anastasia did it to protect her, Annie felt caged and restricted. She was always looking for ways to go out secretly and she finally did. That was the last time anyone saw her, there was nothing left of her.
The incident happened at the mall, she sneaked from home to meet her boyfriend who she met online for the first time. But the meeting didn't go as planned because her power erupted at the wrong time.
One disadvantage about shimmering was that when the victim becomes obsessed over the siren. And since Anastasia was bursting with raw power, anyone shimmered by her became obsessed with her. The people present in the mall tore her to pieces satisfied with any part of her that reached them.
It was a gruesome sight, when they were able to retrieve her remains, none of us could believe it.
But the incident was covered by The Paranormal Bureau Investigation Of Supernatural Crimes. They shielded the gruesome sight from the public and the human.
It was kept a top-secret that a member of one of the most influential family of the paranormal community died horribly. And it was only few people who knew about Annie, because she was was always indoors.
That was one of the reasons why my father brought me to stay at the Stone's mansion. Grandma Anastasia wanted to train me to be like Annie or better. Delilah was already a force of nature but her brother Clinton was a dud.
People known as duds in the paranormal community were people who didn't have any magical abilities. He was an estate management agent with a serious gambling problem, Grandma Anastasia called him a weak and spineless fool.
I think that Grandma Anastasia preferred us to Victoria's children and that was one of reasons why Victoria loathed me. Not that she would admit it out loud, but I knew that I didn't reach her expectations.
Enough of the past, I walked behind Delilah as she led the way.
"Is Grandma Anastasia around?" Delilah scoffed as she pressed her thumb to the fingerprint sensor located under the handle of the door.
"You know she hardly leaves this place, I guess that her ghost will still be roaming this house even when she's dead." Such a morbid thought.
We walked in silence as we passed through the long hallway, everything in this building was just too big. We crossed into the living room, my father was there sitting on a black couch reading a newspaper. Delilah's mom was sitting opposite him tapping on her phone. I didn't have to guess that she was on Instagram searching for the next item to place an order on.
They both looked at me with different expressions on their faces, my father with a little smile and my stepmother with a frown on her face.
"Sapphire..." He opened his arms in a huge embrace waiting for me to come hug him. I went in for the hug, it's been years since I've seen my father. He even seemed surprised to see me, when I left the house at fifteen to move in with my mother.
But I maintained contact with him over years with phone calls and sometimes meeting at the coffee shop when I was younger. On the other hand, Victoria was not pleased to see me at all. Her lips were pinched tight together.
"Sapphire welcome." I turned to see my grandma standing on the top staircase. She was looking much older, more grey spots had appeared on her hair, liver spots and wrinkles on her face. Looking at her, she still had that youthful beauty to her and her stern face.
"And she's welcome here?" Victoria asked.
"Do you have a problem with that?" Grandma Anastasia asked coming down the stairs with her walking stick.
"After all this years she's welcome back?" Victoria raised her voice a decibel higher.
"Did she ever leave?" Grandma raised her eyebrow. They were both arguing as if I wasn't there.
"She..."
"Enough Victoria." Dad raised his voice at her.
"Sapphire is back and that is all that matters." he completed his statement placing his hand on my shoulder. I wasn't here to stay, although I didn't correct him.
"And how have you been Sapphire?" Grandma asked me turning her glacial stare on me. I wondered if she ever smiled or laughed.
"I've been good Grandma." I returned her stare.
"I believe my job here is done." Delilah spoke drawing attention to herself.
"What are you talking about?" I turned facing her.
"I'll be in my room if any one needs me." She left without answering me.
"I asked her to bring you here, there's something I need to discuss with you." I frowned what's could she want to discuss with me.
"Walk with me." She turned walking towards the french doors that led to the garden.