A Denial of Fate - 2

A Prodigal Returns

"Why do you want to leave?" My father leaned against the kitchen counter as he stirred his early morning coffee. I favor him, I discovered this years ago when I arrived on his doorstep. We have the same coppery blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes, and I've noticed our eyes crinkle the same when we smile.

My step-mother sat at the table beside me, her fingers fiddling with the corner of a napkin. I leaned back in my chair, mentally preparing myself for the argument to come. The sun was just coming up, I could hear the cows in the barn making a ruckus, ready for the morning milking and feeding.

I ignored my father for a moment, smiling as heard the noise outside. What a life, city girl finding pleasure in life as a country woman. I had been gone from my mother's house for five years. I never graduated high school, just completed a GED program, but I did graduate college. I had spent the last year teaching at my new home's small school and enjoyed it, but I wanted to go home now. It had been years since I heard from him. It was time.

"I want to go home", I finally answered, repeating my wish for the thousandth time. "I miss seeing Silian and Claire in person. I want to be there when things happen", like helping Sil get ready for a dance or babysitting Claire's baby, "instead of hearing about them". My tone was exasperated as I rehashed my old argument.

It must have sunk in last time we spoke, because my step-mother slid a plane ticket across the table to me. I snatched it up, springing from the table to dance around the kitchen. I gave both of them an excited hug. "I'll drive you to the airport after the chores are done", my father's hug was warm.

I ran outside to do my chores, the ticket burning a hole in my back pocket. Even the boring cows would not put a damper on my spirits today. I was going home!

Once my chores were done, it took me less than an hour to pack up my clothes and the few things I wanted to take home. Before lunch I was in the terminal hugging my father good-bye. He had done a lot for me and I was very appreciative of the home and safety he'd provided these last few years.

The plane ride home was different from the one that brought me to North Dakota, it was only two flights instead of three, and I was going home. The taxi ride was almost overwhelming as old places brought back old memories and new places made me aware of how much I had missed. And in the back of my mind was the thought I would be safe in my own home for the first time in my life.

For the first three years of my absence, Shean had tried to call me, to bring me back to his side. In those years I was still confused, still a shift. The year he stopped was the year my soul finally found peace. I now held only two souls and I felt content with that. Not happy of course, my heart had stayed behind when I fled, but content. I hadn't shifted since I had felt the last soul die, I had no idea what soul I possessed. It worried me but for now I was content with my safety.

The cab pulled up outside my mother's house, all of the lights were on and all of the cars were in the driveway. I didn't see my camaro anywhere, but I knew my mother still had it. She had kept it in storage for me. The driver helped me unload my suitcases from the trunk before I paid him, thanking him for the ride.

I picked my bags up and started towards the front door only to be enfolded in a hot, tight hug, the red hair at my shoulder clearly belonging to my sister Silian. She was shrieking my name, looking up at me and then hugging me again. She had cut off her hair, it stood up in short, bright red spikes, but her warm eyes were still the same. She took my smaller bag and helped inside the house where my mother was waiting.

"You cut your hair", she played with the ends of my own shortened hair before pulling me into a warm hug. "I like it though, it helps with the curl", my shorter hair curled in a waves around my head and shoulders.

"It's easier to take care of", I answered as she took my bag from me.

"I'm glad you are home", her smile was genuine, she must have realized I was no longer a shifter. Phoenix notice things like that, its part of their magic. She seemed at ease, a nervousness I had never noticed before seemed to be gone. Between the three of us, we got my luggage to my room without any major incidents.

"I left it alone, except for washing your sheets", Sil explained once my mother gave me another hug and left me alone. Our mother was not the hovering type and she knew I preferred Sil's company. My mother and I had always had a complex relationship because of who I had been. It seemed it would be difficult for us to move beyond it.

"Thank you". She helped me unpack, telling me all about her new adventures in junior high as a teenager. I shared my own stories about teaching in a small schoolhouse of forty students when her stories ran out.

"Can I sleep over tonight?" She asked me at one point. I agreed, my bed was big enough for the two of us. We ate a late dinner with our parents, in companionable silence, before we started getting ready for bed.

We spent the night head to foot, adding more stories that we hand't shared over the last five years in letters and telephone calls. She fell asleep just after midnight, leaving me to my own devices. On a whim I slid out of bed and opened the window, finally climbing out of it. Claire had tried for years to get me to sneak out that window but I never had until now.

My step father kept the yard well cut, with no trees blocking the view from the east. My mother's room was a solid wall of windows so she could watch the sun rising. Phoenix are creatures of the sun, they get their power from it. But dragons are creatures of the moon, and overhead the stars twinkled brightly, the moon a bright sickle.

The moon was different, but the stars looked the same as they had all those nights ago when Shean and I had chased each other across the sky and created a song that transcended any music I had ever heard. He had called it a heartsong and at the time I hadn't realized its significance.

My father had explained to me what a heartsong was, once I had gotten the courage up to ask him about it. Shean may have made an attempt to claim my body that night, but he successfully claimed my heart. But I had chosen to leave him, I believed staying with him would result in our deaths. I still felt it was the right choice, but my heart had withered because of it.

I reached for the pool of magic which held my other soul and smiled. Before, I had always been scared of what soul would come to my call, but now? There was only one shape in that pool that answered my call.

I felt the caress of magic on my skin as the shape came to me. It didn't take long, my senses coming alive as I shifted forms. Even with my eyes closed I knew what I was as I felt a breeze dance along my scales. I stretched my wings, turning my head to gaze at a form I had not seen in years. My scales were still wine dark, my membranous wings still tattooed with feathers. This shape was home, it had always been my favorite, even before that night.

Like a snake, my tongue tasted the air, tasted the scents and magic which danced around me. The chill of a late spring night caused me to shiver with anticipation. I crouched down, prepared to launch myself upward when a shape passed above as black as death and moving just as fast. I paused, my heart suddenly leaping into my mouth, as I shifted back to my human form. I snatched my pajamas up, redressing quickly even as I climbed back into my window. I slid into the warm bed beside my sister and tried to fall asleep. A dark part of me wanted to go back outside, to find him. That wasn't him overhead though, he didn't know I was home.