Chapter 10: Expectations

I haven't spoken to Carol in a few days, I don't know if she knows I know her secret. She knows mine though. When we sit next to each other in class, she keeps quiet. Sometimes glancing at me for a brief second and scowls. I tried to sit elsewhere yesterday but she carried her seat next to me. Moments ago she asked me if there was something I wanted to tell her and I told her that there was nothing to tell. She got and left without saying anything else.

Now I'm seated here with kelly watching the news, nothing else on tv. Nothing wrong with Kelly but I could've been texting Carol right now. Kelly turns up the volume on the tv and I realise something I should have seen a while ago.

"Breaking News tonight, the vigilante known as Cernunnos has struck once again. She left a group of armed robbers who were about to violate some females in their home after they broke in critically injured. The witnesses described her as a woman in black clothing with a hood, she had red hair and eyes. The witnesses say she also made plants spring from the ground and grab the robbers."

The report goes on and I realize, that was Carol, no doubt about it. Explains why she was in the hoods dressed like that yesterday, she must have thought something fishy was going on. I need to talk to her and tell her everything. I also need to find out why she has been acting weird.

I say goodnight to Kelly and tell her I'll be studying later so she shouldn't worry and I head upstairs.

I wear a black hoodie and some slacks with sneakers. No one should recognize me in these. It's dark out anyway.

"Are you gonna wear that out?" Abhartach says to me before I jump out of the window.

"Yeah," I say to him. "Got a problem with it?"

"As a matter of fact, Not only can I see your stupid human face but those clothes can be traced back if a piece tore off. Wear mine." He says casually.

"Your clothes are what? Ancient? Where will I find them?" I ask smugly.

"My powers come with a form, which includes clothes. It's magic, see, doesn't need to make sense." He says callously, the arrogance emanating from his voice.

I focus clearly and a shadow covers my body. My clothes change into a cloudy dark material, I can tell it's strong. A hoodie covers my head and a half-mask covers my face. My eyes are the only visible things on my face and they are hard to notice, no longer are they a deep blue like back when I was hungry.

Now I remember Abhartach wore something similar in the memories he showed me except those had white lining and the face was not covered, he also had his grey hood off.

I smirk and leap out easily, the shadows become my ally. I run atop houses, jumping from roof to roof, almost invisible in the night and I reach Carol's house within minutes. Should've taken me half an hour to cycle here. Her window is open and I let myself in.

"She's not here," Abhartach has a knack for mentioning the obvious, probably thinks I'm stupid.

I look around and her room looks the same, a computer and graphic tablet near the wall on a desk. Her room is filled with posters of various fandoms. I see a piece still in progress on her tablet and remember she had asked me to colour it before our recent patch, I select the colour option and begin patiently.

"So you finally decided to drop in," A familiar voice says behind me.

"Hey there."

"Don't hey there me, you don't usually say that to me," She says with anger in her tone.

She's pissed.

"What's going on? Why are you angry with me?" I ask.

"Because you lied to me," She says and I wonder, how did I lie to her, she never told me she had a link with a Danann either.

"Wait what? You didn't tell me you had a Danann either." I say I am triggered too at this point. This unfair of her.

"I asked you what was going on and if there was something you needed to tell me and you said nothing. You looked me in the eye and told me nothing was going on." She says and I realize why she is angry. I never once asked her what was going on and I did lie.

She hates being lied to.

"I wanted to protect you, I didn't you to get involved because anything could happen. f anything happened to you.." I say while pulling down my mask and hoodie. I realize she had removed her disguise too. Her hair is white again and her eyes are back to brown. Nothing to hide.

"That's sweet Sammy but I don't need your protection. I can do just fine on my own, I've had years of experience with these powers. I need you to trust me," She says while covering the distance between us.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't need my protection but I just feel that way," I say and she kisses my cheek.

"From now on, no more secret, ok?"

"Yeah," I respond to kiss her and puts a finger on my lips and walks around me to her tablet.

"No kisses for you tonight since you lied, maybe another time when I'm less vengeful." She says with a grin as she inspects my work.

"I hate how you've always been better than me at art and writing." She says while admiring my colour-work.

She tells me that every time even though she's better than most people.

"You're lucky I want to be a physicist so I won't work as hard as you do on this stuff. I can crush you on anything math-related any day." She says smugly.

She's right, been kicking my ass at math, physics and chemistry since time began. She has a passion for it. She will be the best, I can tell.

"So, who's your Danann?" I ask her

"Cernunnos. The Danann of nature," She responds coolly.

I look at her with an expression that screams 'I have no idea whatsoever what that is and she breaks out into a fit of laughter.

"I am linked to Abhartach, he is like a vampire I think except the sun doesn't hurt him so I have no idea. Maybe he's like a knock off or something." I say teasingly and Abhartach snarls.

"I am the first vampire, and as for the Danann part, I'm actually half Fomorian myself. Danu created me, she didn't birth me." Abhartach says and I realize that he kept this from me. What else could he be keeping from me?

"Wait, hold up, you're linked to a half Fomorian?" Carol shoots and I stare at her. How did she know that?

"How'd you know that?"

"Uhm, I can read minds. I might have taken just a little peak here and there." She says in an apologetic tone.

Abhartach immediately locks her out of my mind and she looks surprised. She attempts again and no luck. She's completely locked out.

"You know normally I wouldn't mind you in my head but I'm not sure Abhartach feels the same way," I say jokingly.

"Damn it. No one has ever been able to keep me out." She says.

"So tell me, why do you do this vigilante thing?" I inquire.

"Well, I started first by watching over all the women and girls who face dangers every day. I wanted to make a difference even if I couldn't change things on a larger scale, stopping rapists and traffickers is my way." She says it in a very confident tone. This is what she wants.

"At first?" I chime in.

"Recently while I was on patrol I stumbled on this sketchy guy who calls himself 'Unknown'. He approached me and he somehow knew who I really was under disguise. He said something about a second rising. I didn't trust him so I attacked him, he beat me with one move and left some kind of scroll."

Carol pulled out a small box from under her desk and pulled out the scroll from it. I held it and a vision came to me, chained people everywhere, millions dead and I caught a glimpse of something that would haunt me.

Bres stood there, waving his sword in the air cackling due to his victory, the world was his and the Fomorians had all been revived, all before he buried Excalibur in Carol and she lost her life.

I quickly let go of the scroll in terror and looked at her. No, not this.

"What did you see?" Carol asks curiously.

"I saw Bres, he came back and he won and he killed... Killed you." I say to her. She said no more lies but I wish I had. Maybe I could find a way to keep her away from him.

"So that sketchy guy was right, the end. Funny I thought it'd be hard to believe." Carol jokes.

"Carol, I can't lose you. That was a vision of the future. I don't know a lot about Danann and Fomorians but I know a death prophecy when I see one. Please let's just go somewhere else." I say desperately.

"Sam, I won't die, and we can't run away, this is a global thing now. We're the only two people that can stop this rising." She says taking me into a hug. "We find whoever is causing this so-called rising, we stop them and we stay together no matter what. I won't leave you, I never will."

"Somethings are better shared with the one you love than suffered through alone," I say at her and kiss her softly. I've been waiting for this for so long.

"So where should we start?" Carol asks with no ideas."

"I think we should start in my basement. Maybe my parents know something."