Faith is Fallen (Broken Fantasies Series)

Chapter 26

Author's Note:  Happy Thanksgiving all you Americans out there.

Mike looked at the woman before him incredulously. This was the legendary Cara McKay? The magical ancestor who had been watching over the McKay clan for centuries? The one who always came if you held that bizarre stone long enough? She looked so... ordinary.

A t-shirt with "National Novel Writing Month" written across it, blue jeans, a belt, and grey and purple sneakers. The most extraordinary parts of her were her eyes and hair, both of which were bright purple and clearly augmented with dye and contacts. She stood tall for a woman, but not as tall as Mike. She was just so... ordinary.

"Can I see some ID?" He wiggled his fingers at her.

She rolled her eyes back at him, chuckling slightly before stopping herself. "You're going to trust an ID? They can be faked, and I go through them like tissues."

"Really? Then what does you ID say?"

"Ashley Driden, which is kind of my point. I mean, I've been using that name a little too long. I think thirty years now. At this point, I kind of have to be careful about who sees my ID. Most people think I must have had work done. On the upside, the purple hair kind of makes people confused, I think. They're so used to seeing stuff like that on young people that they have a hard time figuring out your age if you're supposed to be older. They just assume the hair makes you look younger." She shrugged after the diatribe. "Unfortunately, I didn't bring my ID with me. I was kind of in a rush."

"So, you could be anyone."

Cara, or should he call her Ashley, looked around, then sat down on a box. "What have you been told about me? What do you know? The stories have occasionally been changed, lost or warped over the years, so it'll help if I can get my facts straight."

Mike squirmed like a child being scolded by a parent, a feeling he wasn't at all comfortable with considering he still didn't have any proof that she was who she claimed to be. Not to mention, who she claimed to be was sort of impossible. "My father said that if you held the stone long enough, it would summon Cara McKay, some ancestor from centuries ago. That's it."

She frowned. "Hm. Pretty thin. Okay. I am Cara McKay. I was married to Conall McKay. He was the head of the clan, clan chieftain, whatever you want to call it. We had one child, Aidan. Because I am a Fae, that made Aidan, along with all of the rest of my descendants, changelings."

"Wait, wait," he said, raising his hands. "Fae? Changelings?" He shook his head. "This is too much."

"Michael, would you let me finish?"

"How the hell did you know my name?"

She just gave him a dirty look in response. "Really, Michael. I've known your name all your life, even if I've never met you before."

"How?"

"A magic book."

Mike stared at the crazy woman before him incredulously. Could she get any weirder? He thought not. "You didn't by chance happen to escape from a nice comfy room? White walls? Nice, friendly people in scrubs? Serve you pills a couple times a day?"

She glared at him. "No, I'm not crazy." "Cara" shook her head and stood, pacing the small space between the door and the nearest stack of boxes. She turned back to him. "I guess I'll just have to prove that magic exists in the world." She reached around her neck, messing with her necklace, which she removed, and placed carefully on a box beside her.

When his focus returned to her, and not the stunning bit of jewelry, his jaw dropped. The change proved subtle, but smack-you-in-the-face obvious. Pointed ears, sharper features, and skin that looked like she'd sprayed herself thoroughly with a glitter body spray. "Holy shit."