I Am: Silver

Chapter 10

"How are you alive? I thought you died when I saw that white light." I asked. We were sitting in Mum's lounge. She was sitting in a wooden rocking chair woven from vines, sipping honey dew and heated milk, thanks to me. I was leaning against an open window, where Pegasus happily poked his head in. Sapphire had taken off to hunt, and Tomas and Blue were still getting over their disagreement, sitting at opposite ends of the small couch. They looked like a married couple at therapy.

"Well, that's what you were supposed to think." Mum answered, a coy smile on her lips. "Certainly gave those two scoundrels a good tan." A smile of my own made its way onto my face. We still shared the same humor. Those two men had been roasted alive. "I suppose I'd better start from the beginning so I don't confuse you." I nodded and readjusted my stance, leaning into Pegasus' warm neck, his white fur a silk cushion on my tired head. How he managed to keep that clean...why am I wondering how Pegasus cleans himself? I shuddered.

"You see, I was - am - a fallen star. I was an angel to one of the Gods, but when I was carrying out a mission on Earth, I met a mortal and fell in love with him. I disobeyed the Gods, and was stripped of my wings when I returned. So I was banished to here, where the man I loved created a baby with me: you. It turned out that he was immortal, and had some...extra powers that he'd forgotten to mention. And when you turned ten, he ran off, and left me to raise you alone. However I had no idea how to control your powers, and then the Hunters found us. I still have no idea how. Because you weren't fully developed in your powers, they mistook you for a Hunter, and took you from me.

"Although I could have saved you, I couldn't risk anything, not with two experienced Hunters  guarding you. Because I am a fallen star, I heal exactly the same as any other mortal. So, I took the form of a witch, and watched and waited to see how you would grow up, planning to get you out of there when you were eighteen and experienced enough to handle yourself. You were safer with them, and they could teach you how to control your powers. But I had no idea how, because surely you would grow more powerful."

"They were injecting me with the Oshax's Kiss." I interrupted. And after I left for that mission to find Tomas, my tracker was taken out of my body, and I stopped getting my daily doses. It all made sense. Mum nodded, and carried on.

"But somehow a couple of years ago I lost track of you, and thought you were dead. I was constantly watching the Sanctuary, but you were nowhere to be seen. I thought you were dead, and gave up.' I shuddered at that memory, that had to have been when they took me in for interrogation against Tomas. 'And then one day, out of the blue, I get a message from Knox, an old friend who I saved from the Goblins, telling me that he believes my daughter to be alive. I didn't want to scare you what with all the stress you'd been under, and watched. So while I couldn't contact you physically, I sent you a message. I transformed into a star, a very risky move if any of the Gods found me, and tried to tell you, to-"

"-to come find you." I finished for her. Mum smiled sadly and nodded.

"Eventually Finch got attacked, and Knox sent you to find me. I was planning to come anyway, but when Ash arrived, I waited." At this I jumped up.

"Where is he?" I asked, referring to the brown hawk I had not seen for so long. Mum smiled and whistled. A loud keen from outside startled me, and a familiar brown bird darted into the lounge, flying straight for me. I held out my hand and he landed, falling a little to the side due to his unbalance. I grinned as he hopped closer and perched on my shoulder, rubbing his feathered head against my cheek.

"He has been quite the company I must say." Mum chuckled. I rolled my eyes, Ash certainly was a handful. Remembering Finch, I asked:

"So can you help her? Finch I mean." Mum nodded at my question.