Zora's Dawn (Defender Book 1) (12 page)

When Zora
awoke again it was to the soft light of dawn. She lay there for a few minutes,
an odd feeling in her stomach. Probably fear she decided. Abandoning the idea
of any more sleep she climbed out of bed and headed to the veranda. The sun was
just rising over the ocean, a sliver of orange piercing the soft glow of pink
and gold along the horizon. Zora sat in one of the chairs and emptied her mind
of all but the beauty of the sunrise. When was the last time she saw a sunrise?
She had no idea, she was not normally a morning person.

It was a
magical time of day, the birds were just beginning the morning chorus, and the
sky above the horizon was changing shades of pink and gold and yellow as the
sun crept ever higher. As she watched Zora could feel all the tense muscles in
her body relax and her breathing slow. It was like meditating must be, not that
she had any experience with that.

The sun
crept higher, Zora could swear she could actually see it inching up, the yellow
glow reflecting off the clouds and gilding them in deeper shades of orange, pink,
yellow and gold even as the sky lightened to a pale blue. Zora was transfixed,
it was the most beautiful sunrise she had ever seen – although to be fair that
was not a very large test group.

“Whoa
Zora, look at your hair! It’s glowing like the sun, and your skin too! Are you
sure you’re human? Because right now you look like some sort of creature of
light.”

Zora
almost levitated, she got such a shock as Sunny’s voice pierced the stillness.

“Jeez
Sunny, you scared me half to death!”

“Me? You
should see yourself! Here, look.” Coming over to where Zora was sitting Sunny
thrust her phone under her nose. Zora saw she had turned on the camera and looked
up at Sunny in confusion. “You want me to take a selfie?”

Tsking in
exasperation Sunny thrust the phone back towards Zora. “No silly, use it like a
mirror, take a look at yourself!”

Taking the
phone from Sunny Zora gave her a confused look before looking at the screen.
Whoa, way too close, she really didn’t want to see her nose that close. Holding
the phone further away she peered at the glowing screen in the dim light. So
ok, her hair did seem to be glowing, and yes her skin looked kind of pale but
it wasn’t like she was really glowing.

Looking
back up at Sunny she frowned, “I don’t understand Sunny, I look pretty normal.
It’s just the dim light and the sun reflecting off my hair.”

Sunny
snatched the phone back, stabbed at it with her finger and then aimed it at
Zora, obviously taking a photo.

Zora began
to feel a bit tetchy, she wasn’t up for puzzles at such an early hour. “Sunny!
No photos, I haven’t even had a cup of tea yet!”

“Forget
tea woman, look at yourself, really look at yourself! And look at this veranda,
do you see any sun here yet? The sun is only just above the horizon, it’s not
bright enough yet to reflect off anything except clouds. Wow that really is an
awesome sunrise.” Shaking her head irritably she returned to her subject.
“Here, look at this pic and don’t rationalise it, just look with your eyes
open.”

Zora took
the phone from Sunny and very reluctantly gazed at the photo open on the
screen. She swallowed against a lump that had formed in her throat. Sunny was
right, she
was
glowing.

She looked
up from the screen, a bubble of anxiety rising rapidly and forming into a
tornado of panic. “Sunny, what is happening to me? I look like I stood in
radioactive matter or something.”

“Little
Zora do not panic, Powers has awakened thinking you are in danger and will be
here in protection mode in seconds. Please, calm yourself. It is nothing more
than your own abilities manifesting.” Axel appeared from the darkness at the
back of the veranda as he spoke, coming to Zora and stroking her hair in a
deliberate calming motion.

Not
feeling at all calm, especially as apparently Powers was about to appear guns
blazing metaphorically at least, Zora glared at Axel like it was his fault. And
it kind of was, since he was the one activated her abilities. “What do you
mean? What abilities are manifesting? Why am I glowing like nuclear Barbie?”

“Because
you are a defender, and you are strongest at dawn. In fact exposing yourself to
sunrise increases your strengths.” The fourth voice to speak at an hour when
Zora was used to no voices at all belonged of course to Powers. He strode
across the veranda to join the little group standing around Zora. His voice gentle
he continued, “Your pendant recharges in the dawn light, your powers are at
their peak. Unlike the wolf you are strongest at dawn, and unlike the wolf you
gain strength from the rising sun. You are a creature of the day as much as the
wolf is a creature of the night.”

Zora gaped
at him, and swung her gaze to Axel. “Is this true? Do I recharge like a phone battery?”

Axel
snorted in a failed attempt to hide a laugh before replying, “That is a very
broad analogy little Zora and not exactly correct. You have your strengths at
all times, but yes, you are strongest at dawn. And your pendant pulls in the
sunlight. You are connected to the sun in a way pure humans are not. That is
why you glow, that is why your pendant is glowing. Surely you have felt this
before even when your abilities were not unlocked? You are a creature of the
morning, you would have experienced at the very least the calm and serenity of
being in the presence of the dawn light.”

Sunny and
Powers both developed an unexplained coughing fit, turning away from Zora as
one. Zora glared at them both. “Stop that! I know you’re both laughing like
loons inside.”

Axel
raised an eyebrow at them both. “Powers, Sunny, I have said something amusing?”

Powers
grinned at Axel unrepentantly. “Axel, Zora is not a morning person, I doubt she
has seen the sunrise for years.”

Zora
watched the normally unruffled Axel gape in astonishment. Really, was it that
hard to believe a person would prefer to be asleep when it was still dark? As
was befitting to an insanely old person/fairy/prince/whatever Axel quickly
recovered his usual expression of mild amusement and turned to Zora.

“Little
Zora, I am astonished that you have been able to suppress your nature for so
long. Even with your abilities locked, you showed by sensing the werewolf the
first time you went to the scene that you still had some access. As such you
should also have felt the pull to greet the dawn each day. I really don’t know
if it is a sign of your strength or of your stubbornness that you were able to
resist.”

“Maybe it
was just a sign of my common sense to stay asleep at this absurd hour of the
morning. Do you know how long I’ve been awake already today, and I haven’t had
any tea, and people are talking to me!” Aware of how querulous she was sounding
Zora shut her mouth and resolved not to speak again until she had at least one
cup of tea inside her.

Axel
snorted, she was pretty sure it was actually a smothered laugh, while Powers
and Sunny didn’t even try to hide their laughter.

“Ok, ok,
I’ll go make a pot of tea for you o snitty one.” Powers saluted, pivoted on his
heel and disappeared inside.

Zora
scowled as his actions sparked more laughter from the two left on the veranda.
Seeing her dark expression Sunny hurriedly composed herself and announced that
she would go help Powers since she had a sudden and urgent desire for coffee.
That left Axel, who to her chagrin did not leave but instead gestured to a
chair which obligingly moved itself, settling gently beside her. Axel lowered
himself into the chair and took Zora’s unresisting hand. That hand was
unresisting because its owner was trying to control her shock at the casual
display of magic. 

“Close
your mouth little Zora, I simply feel too lazy to go get the chair before
coffee. Being a fairy has its benefits.” Nodding speechlessly Zora looked down
at her hand lying limply in his. It had stopped glowing she noted. She must be
fully charged, probably there was a little light on her forehead or some such.

“Little
Zora, you are always so entertaining. You are not a battery to be charged, you
simply gain strength from the rising sun and as such you should be drawn to the
time of dawn. I think that from now on you will wake as the sun rises – much as
a new vampire sleeps at the same time really.”

The last
was added in an aside to himself she decided and as such did not require a
response. Before she could ask anything he continued, “You would have felt a
great sense of peace and belonging as the sun rose. Like a flower, you respond
to the dawn light. I say flower because a flower is part of the bigger entity
that is Gaia, or the earth. For the time of the sun’s rising you feel the power
of Gaia and you are a part of it. As it climbs and dawn gives way to the full
light of morning you feel the loss of that connection, which in you shows
itself in bad temper.”

Zora
stared at Axel, not sure if she understood his meaning. Seeing her confusion he
elaborated. “Little Zora we are all part of Gaia, we the fairies are the purest
form of Gaia manifested, and the supernaturals are also connected. You feel
that connection at dawn and you can in fact draw on it at any time, which you
will understand as you grow into your abilities. All supernaturals gain their
power from Gaia, and it is a wondrous thing to be connected to.”

Zora
thought – and it was hard to do without tea, where was Powers? “So you mean
that you are formed directly from Gaia, and the supes all get their powers from
Gaia, and I have a connection only at dawn? That kind of sucks. And people
don’t have a connection at all?”

“Mostly
correct little Zora. We the fairies
are
Gaia, the supernaturals are
formed of Gaia and get their powers through her. You also have a connection to
her. And humans, well they too once had a connection but they lost their way
and now no longer feel her. What we call Gaia you call earth.”

“Soooooo,
if humans could feel Gaia they would have superhuman powers too?”

Axel
smiled sadly at her. “No, they would not have super powers, but they would feel
the love of the planet and they would not be hurting her as they do. There
would still be wars, but the planet would be healthy and humans would have more
humanity than they do now.”

Rubbing
his hands together briskly Axel said firmly, “Now that is enough of that
subject, it is far too complex to tackle before breakfast. Just remember little
Zora, at dawn each day you are connected to a power beyond your comprehension.”

Zora
nodded, not really feeling capable of anything else. Her world had shifted
under her feet again and she needed tea, or maybe what she needed was a good
stiff scotch. Hearing Axel’s soft laughter at her last thought she decided that
she needed no more proof. Axel for sure was reading her mind. Throwing a
resentful glare in his direction she was met with a cheerful grin and a wink
and sighed. And where was Powers?

The person
in question came out as she spoke, followed by Sunny and the fairy guard.
Marcus however did not put in an appearance. Well, vampire - no doubt morning
was the least favourite part of his day. Powers and his helpers had not only
made tea and coffee, but prepared a huge breakfast with everything anyone could
want currently being arranged on the table.

Zora
sighed with pleasure. Really Powers was pretty useful to have around, she was
going to miss his amazing way with food when this was all over. A slight
stiffening of his shoulders was the only sign Powers had picked up on her
thought. Remembering her other uninvited mind guest she looked over at Axel who
was pouring himself a cup of coffee. He looked unusually serious so maybe he
was not actually listening in on her thoughts right now. A glance flicked in
her direction and then directed at Powers gave her the rather unsettling feeling
that maybe he was and he knew something. She shivered, if so she decided she
really, really didn’t want to know.

Marcus put
in an appearance as they were finishing eating. He looked rather rough around
the edges, or at least as rough as someone as gorgeous as him was able to look.
When he grunted in response to Sunny’s cheerful greeting and made a beeline for
the coffee pot Zora decided that she quite liked morning Marcus. Somehow his
grumpiness made him seem more human and less vampire. All the others ignored
him so Zora surmised that this was normal morning vampire. Given that they were
usually sleeping during the day Zora could see that he would not be thrilled to
be moving around at this hour.

When he
came to sit next to her she asked, “Marcus can all vampires be awake at this
hour?”

Taking a
large swallow of coffee and sighing with pleasure, Marcus focused his attention
on her. “As we grow older we can change our routine when necessary for a short
time. It is not pleasant any more than doing shift work is pleasant to a human
but we can do it. I do not enjoy being awake at this hour, but it is necessary
for now. And coffee always helps greatly.”

“So you
can sleep at night?”

“Once I
get adjusted to the different routine yes I can, but it’s not the refreshing
sleep of the day. Again, think of a shift worker, they sleep during the day but
it’s not the same for them as night-time sleep. But do not worry Zora, I will
be fine for this time and if I need to refresh I can take some day time naps.”