Sapphire Eyes: The Weaver Chronicles Book 1 Read online

  Sapphire Eyes

  The Weaver Chronicles Book 1

  Angie Cottingham

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are all from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to persons alive or dead are purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any form without the express consent of the author.

  Copyright, 2020, Angie Cottingham

  Cover Art provided by Beautiful Chaos Designs

  Prologue

  In the beginning, there was darkness, and in that darkness reigned demons and other dark creatures. Creatures of magic and elemental powers. Creatures forged from the fires of Hell itself. The creator saw fit to balance this darkness with light. For every dark creature, there would be its counter. Demons and Angels, Unseelie and Seelie Fae, etc. To round them all out, Humans were forged, given free will to choose their paths and natures. A world was created for them that was just as balanced with all the elements.

  As angels were the first light creatures created, they became jealous of all the creator had given unto the humans. They attempted to overturn the creator and take over heaven. Some fell to earth to wreak havoc on the humans. One such angel was Lucifer, the first angel. He led a coup in Heaven, but the creator slipped into another realm and locked it from anyone being able to enter.

  Lucifer then went to earth to rule over the humans. Humans however weren’t keen to be ruled and fought back. If he couldn’t rule them, he would find a way to destroy them. A woman stepped forward to help him. Lilith was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. Smooth and creamy skin with long blonde hair and eyes as green as the fresh dewy grass. Lucifer was immediately enamored with her. Lilith became pregnant, and Lucifer had tamed down a little, no longer feeling the need to destroy that which the creator made. The child born of their love was strong, and at the age of majority, was able to shift into a massive lizard-like beast with the ability to breathe fire. And thus, dragons were born.

  One day, while Lilith was gathering herbs, she came upon a man that was able to control beasts. His name was Adam. Lilith despite all her love of Lucifer, felt drawn to Adam and began an affair. She became pregnant again. When this child was born, it was with the ability to shift forms into that of a wolf. And thus, shifters were born.

  Lucifer was livid and heartbroken at the truth that this new child was not his. In his wrath, he wanted to ruin Adam. He discovered Adam himself had another mate as well as a child, Abel. Her name was Eve. She too was beautiful and the opposite of Lilith. With her long ebony hair and bright blue eyes that would put the most beautiful sapphires to shame. Lucifer seduced Eve to steal her away from Adam. The child created in this union; Cain would be forced to walk the earth through eternity cursed to drink the blood of others to survive after killing his brother Abel.

  All children created by Lilith and Lucifer had darkness in their hearts. The balance was broken, and Eve felt horrible for what she had done begging the creator for forgiveness. Seeing how humble she was being, the creator bestowed upon Eve one more child. A special child. This child would be known as a weaver.

  She held the power to create or to destroy. She had both light and darkness. She could walk all the realms bringing balance or destruction. She could walk and weave dreams and nightmares. Eve named this blessed child Neveah. As Neveah grew into her powers so had the darkness. Lilith and Lucifer wreaked havoc on all the realms.

  Years went by with more and more creatures being created. Witches on the dark side, and elementals on the light. Shifters that took on the form of all the different animals, predator, and prey alike.

  Neveah, tired of the fight for balance, decided it was time to put an end to Lilith and Lucifer. Lucifer was cast into and locked away in Hell. She then created purgatory where spirits walked, watching, and guarding the entrance to ensure he couldn't escape.

  Realms were created for those creatures that preferred to leave Earth. The Fae were given the realm of Elfame. The dragons, being the most dangerous of the new creatures, were given a realm which they called “The Sacred Realm”. Demons were relegated to Hell or The Nightmare Lands. The angels then helped Neveah create a task force to police the rest of the supernatural on Earth, as well as the portals for the realms themselves.

  Human minds were wiped of all knowledge of the supernatural and a law was instituted that the supernatural creatures were to keep their true selves hidden. To maintain the laws and the task force, a council was born. This council consisted of one of each supernatural creature, who was then in charge of maintaining their species. The seat of the council would always be held by the same line unless a line ended at which point a vote would be taken to elect a new member.

  A deal was made with Lucifer that any evil human soul would be sent to him in The Nightmare Lands upon death. Any Light soul was sent to Heaven. Lilith was banished to the void to live out her existence alone. The void was locked to anyone and anything so any of her creations couldn’t escape. Her cage was only strong for 2,000 years. After that, it would begin to weaken, and she’d be able to find a way to break free.

  The prophecy says that the Creator and Neveah made a key that would show itself when the time came, and this was the only way to relock Lilith and her minions back into her cage. Neveah's line held the key. When the time came, one would step forward with the same power to weave the very fabric of existence. When this time came, the fight for the world itself would commence.

  Centuries went by, evil and darkness trying to creep into the world again. The longest-running line of the supernatural on the council saw fit to create an academy where they could train new taskforce members. The academy was named The Supernatural Academy of Excellence and was concealed with magic on Earth. To humans, the Academy was known as Winthrope Academy of Excellence named after its creator and council head, Marcus Winthrope. No one knew what the future held but the council and the academy were determined to be prepared for anything.

  Chapter 1: Reegan

  “What’s wrong mommy? Why are you and daddy crying?”, the little girl asks. Her mother nods, “It’s ok baby. Everything will be ok.”

  “Esme, they’re going to come. It’s time my love.”, her daddy says looking at her mommy lovingly. “You felt that spike in power the same as I did. The task force will come and bring hell with it.”

  “I know Max. I know!”, Esme screams. “Dammit. She’s still too young for her powers to be this strong.” Daddy gives her a look and a nod, “Call Marcus. He’s the only one that can protect her.” Esme snatches up her phone and dials. There’s another voice on the other end but the little girl can't hear it, muffled as it is. He’s coming to take her away. She begins to cry. A loud crash takes place downstairs. It sounds like the door was blown off its hinges. “Esme, hide her, now!” Max hisses.

  Esme looks down on the little girl, “Ok baby. Do you want to play hide and seek?”, she asks with a watery smile. “The little girl beams a huge smile to her mommy excitedly nodding her head. “Go, quietly to your special hiding place, and don’t come out until a man named Marcus finds you, ok. You can trust only Marcus, do you understand?” With a nod, the little girl gets up and runs.

  Under her bed and against the wall is a tiny crawl space that only she can fit in. She gets in and replaces the grate over it. She places her hand over her mouth to keep from making any noise. All she can hear is grunts and then a sharp noise like a slap. “Where is she?”, someone yells. “Go to hell you bastard!”, she hears Esme scream back. Her mommy never curses. Is she ok? There’s a bang that she hasn’t heard bef
ore, loud footsteps echo around the house and then all falls silent. She wants to go check on her mommy but she’s afraid she’ll be in trouble.

  So much time passes. Minutes, hours, she can’t be certain, but she hears muffled voices. One of them is strangely familiar. Her bed is moved. She tries to crawl further into the space where she hides but there’s no more room. The grate is removed, and a hand grabs her. With a yelp, she is pulled from her hiding space. She screams and kicks and scratches, but the hands are relentless and refuse to release her.

  “It’s ok.”, that familiar voice insists. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. It's all going to be ok.” She looks up into the face of a man she vaguely recognizes. He has strong features but those eyes. They’re her mommy’s eyes.

  “Who are you?”, she squeaks. He searches her face for a minute before answering,

  “I’m Marcus.” His eyes are soft. He looks like he wants to say something else but doesn’t.

  “I’m Reegan and I’m 5. Mommy said I can trust you?”, she says like it's a question.

  Marcus snickers a little and with a smile, he says, “Yes, Little Bit, you can. I’m going to take you somewhere safe.”

  “Where’s mommy? Where’s daddy? I heard a big bang. They hit mommy. She made me hide. I could’ve fought.”, Reegan states with a look of pride on her face. Marcus doesn’t respond. He just picks her up and carries her down to a large black car. He sits her inside, covers her with his jacket and they drive away.

  ……………………………………………

  I wake with a start. I’m sweating. It's still dark outside. These dreams have been coming more and more regularly the closer my birthday gets. I never see the little girl’s face, but I know she’s me. I can feel it. Are these memories resurfacing? I don’t remember my parents. The only details I know are that my mother’s eyes are the same steel gray as Marcus’. My father’s smile was a little lopsided and childish. I didn’t know until I was 11 that Marcus was my grandfather. He wasn’t around much as I was growing up. I know he holds a council seat and that he founded the academy that trains the taskforce. It's my dream to be on the task force but Marcus says that isn’t a possibility for me. I am the heir to his seat. I'm an elemental. I can control the elements: water, earth, wind, fire, and spirit. According to Marcus, I am rare. There’s only a very few that control all the elements and I am blessed to be one. There’s something else about me that even I don’t know. Marcus won’t tell me anything.

  No matter how many times I ask, he just says, “You are other. You are more.” I don’t know if he even knows what else there is.

  Since I was twelve, I have dreamed. Not like the dreams or recollections I’ve been having recently but lucid dreaming. I can walk into other people’s dreams, shape them, create them, and nightmares. I only did that once. I don’t remember the details of that night, but I have that recollection dream as well. Everything always looks like it's underwater. I hope it stays that way because it always feels like if I remember the details, I will lose a part of myself. A few months after my twelfth birthday, I began to dream of a boy with striking ice blue eyes and dark hair. I knew he was older than me but not by much. His name was Ash. I don’t know if he was real or one of my dream creations. I told him my name was Winnie. That's what my parents call me when I dream of them. We’re always within my dreamscape. I know because it is modeled after my favorite place in the Fae realm, Elfame. It doesn’t seem to matter though because Ash shouldn’t remember the dreams when he wakes up.

  Since my parents died, I have lived half my life in the human world and the other half in Elfame with the royal family. I am some long distant relation to the Fae. History says that the Fae birthed the Elementals, which use the natural elements. Well, the light Fae did. The Dark Fae birthed witches and warlocks, blood magic. Anyway, I live with the King and Queen of Elfame, Dain, and Alita, along with their daughter Maddie and their sons Aldair and Kalan.

  Maddie has been my best friend since I first came to live with them at five. The boys have always been like brothers but over the past year or so, Kalan and I have grown to be more than that. It's not gone past tender kisses and handholding, but I wouldn’t mind if he’d take it further. The King and Queen don’t seem to mind our budding relationship. Now that I think about it, our relationship started getting more romantic around the same time the dreams started coming more often and the feeling of change within me started taking place.

  I don’t know how long I lay here pondering everything, but the sun is starting to rise which means it's time for me to do the same. I make my way over to the window to watch the sunrise over the mountain of Elfame. It’s my favorite place in all the realm. It's a massive thing covered in trees and at the tip, you can see the steam rising from the crevice in the center. On one side there’s a beautiful rainbow-colored waterfall that lands into a clear blue pool beneath. Maddie and I used to skip lessons to go swimming in the cool water. It always felt like the safest place in the realm and beyond. Like it was fortified in magic that no other person could touch. In the other direction, far to the east, I can see the hint of the ocean and the pink sand beaches we used to explore as children. Closer to the palace are the gardens. It's so lush and filled with all sorts of fruit trees. If I were imaging the human’s Garden of Eden, this is what I’d see.

  After taking in my fill of the view, I head to the shower to prepare for the day. Today, we go back to Earth for the summer there. Summer on Earth, and Winter in Elfame. That’s been my life for the past almost 17 years. I always look forward to this time. No responsibilities, no lessons, just fun to be had pretending to be human for a little while. After I’m showered and changed into black skinny jeans and a black tank that molds my curves, I head down to the dining room. When I enter, the queen is already sitting making the arrangements.

  “Your Majesty.”, I greet her with a dip of my head.

  “Don’t be cheeky dear.”, she responds with a mischievous smile on her beautiful face. Alita is a classic beauty that carries herself with such grace. She has long blonde hair that reaches just above her waist and crystal green eyes.

  “Ok, Alita. So, what’s our plan for this trip? Will we be staying at the house in Pismo again?”, I ask conversationally. Sometimes, we change up our plans but most of the time, we stay at the family estate.

  “Not this year. I’m glad it's just the two of us right now. We need to talk.”, Alita has a serious look on her face that has me somewhat shrinking in my seat. I’m curious as to what she needs to say that she doesn’t want the others here while she says it.

  “This year, our trip will coincide with your grandfather's schedule. We are going to Tennessee and staying at the Winthrope family estate. I received a letter from Marcus' assistant Rebecca, that we were requested and that’s what we will be doing. I wanted to talk to you before the others to prepare you. I know you haven’t seen Marcus in some time, and I didn’t know how you would feel about it.”, she gives me a kind smile.

  Before I can respond, chatter reaches us from the hallway. Maddie and the boys enter. Maddie has a huge smile on her face from some joke Aldair has told but Kalan’s eyes are locked on me. He is so handsome with his dark hair and grass green eyes. He has high cheekbones and skin that’s sun kissed. His lips are full and soft. He comes around the table and gives me a timid kiss. I just really want to grab him and deepen it but won’t since everyone is in the room.

  “Good morning beautiful.”, Kalan whispers to me.

  I smile at him as Margo and Marie, the kitchen staff, bring in breakfast. It’s quite a spread of pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and fresh fruit. I fill my plate and dig into the fluffy eggs, moaning at the buttery flavor. Kalan stares at my mouth with a heated look. Yeah, it won’t be long before we explode. That thought sends a delicious shiver down my spine as a blush rises to my cheeks. Kalan notices that as well and a smirk takes over his face. He has to know where my thoughts have taken me.

  A throat clears from the doorway pu
lling me from our staring match. There, with a smile on his face stands Dain. “Well, family, are we ready for our vacation?”, he asks, pointedly looking at me. Everyone begins excitedly talking about what we’re going to be getting into but all I do is a nod at Dain. This whole thing feels like an omen of sorts. I haven’t seen Grandfather in 6 years. I don’t know if I want to see him. He leaves me here for years without making an appearance and then he does, he refuses to answer any questions about my otherness. “Good, then eat and go get ready. We leave in 3 hours.”, Dain states with all the air of the king he is. He’s so very punctual. A giggle leaves my lips, but I quickly finish my food. Once I’m done, I excuse myself and head toward my room.

  Chapter 2: Reegan

  I’m all packed and ready to go when a knock sounds on the door. “Come in.”, I call. The door opens and in walks Kalan. He looks at me as I pat the bed for him to come and sit. He walks with such swagger, it causes my breath to catch in my chest. I know he’s going to kiss me. As he leans down, I weave my fingers through his hair and give a tiny tug. He tries to make the kiss tentative but I want, no need more. I nip his bottom lip and a growl leaves his lips. I open my mouth and his tongue invades fighting a battle with mine. He presses me down into the bed and I all but melt at his touch. I grind my center against his hardness trying so hard to get a release I so desperately need.

  “Baby stop.”, he says pulling away. He must see the hurt in my eyes because he quickly reassures me, “I want you so badly. You drive me crazy, but we can’t do this now. I only came up here to see if you were ready. Everyone is waiting. And you love, are going to make us late if you keep touching me like that."