Typhoon & Tempest

Chapter Twenty Seven

Lily leaned back against the fence. "You became the Supernova."

"When I came across this town, Freida invited me to tea by leaving a note in the newspaper. A clever trick I hadn't expected of her. She knew my name but couldn't see me coming. She knew her title of the supernova was no longer hers. She gave me her blessing that day, in her home. Her daughter was only a young child. I could hear her playing in the other room."

"Jack." Lily suddenly realised something. "How long have you been watching me? I swear someone was watching me when I stayed in that house."

"I've been watching you carefully these past weeks, when your life suddenly became quite entertaining, but I've seen you for years. Only now, do you see me." Jacob circled his wrist, brushing a jagged scar on his flesh. "You are the first person to see me when I'm invisible."

Lily chose to ignore what he was implying. "These two weeks have been when my creature has surfaced. Did...did you sense that being a shade?"

"A shade only has the ability to hide." Jacob had a gleam in his eyes and the corners of his mouth tucked up, like he was telling a little joke to himself. "But you should know something about yourself, Lily, about the so-called creature you are desperate to name."

Lily held her breath, bracing herself for the news she'd spent years waiting to hear. She could only imagine the words he'd say. What was her creature? Was she like a witch, a creature who could turn on her magic like a switch? A vampire, a being with an unnatural strength and speed? Could she shift into another form like a werewolf? Was she similar to a fairy in that she could use her abilities for good? Maybe she was like Jacob; someone destined to never be seen, to forever walk alone.

"You do not have a creature, little river."

"Excuse me?" Lily blurted out. "I'm definitely a supernatural!"

"I never said you weren't." Jacob smiled. "Your creature is not another side of you like a werewolf or a vampire. You do not have abilities you can turn on or off like a witch. You are your creature. You are not two different people but you are one and the same. Not two sides of the same coin, but one thing, and one thing alone."

Lily took in what he was saying. Somehow it made sense, somewhere deep down she knew that it something else. It was always her. "What am I Jacob?" Lily whispered, gripping her wrists tightly, her mothers bracelets still around her arms, trying to find some of the strength and wisdom she once had.

"My reference to 'little river' isn't one to your creature, but your abilities. Your kind's abilities begin first like a trickle of water, and they slowly build. From a drop to a leak, to a puddle to a stream, then a river, a lake, an ocean. Your power only grows with age."

"You've met others like me?" Lily gasped.

"Only one, eight years ago." Jacob swung his legs gently. "She was running to the mountains in the north. Her name was Nerida Haven."

"My grandmother." Lily squeezed her hands tightly, hearing a knuckle pop. "Is she alive?"

"I haven't seen her since." Jacob shifted so he was completely facing Lily, mimicking her by also resting on the fence behind him. "I walked her to the village she sought and we spoke during our journey, shared all our stories."

"And she told you about me?"

"Nerida spoke of herself," Jacob reminisced. "She spoke of her abilities, and her freedom. Nova High was still quite new, and she laughed in my face at my offer for her to be one of the teachers. She would have been an asset to the school - someone who knew so much about herself, and a creature we knew almost nothing about, but she didn't want to be chained or contained by anything.