Stone of Destiny(10)

The kids in school all looked at me funny after that, she must have told the story of my crazy mother to the entire class.

I needed something to take my mind off the dream, and the mound of laundry I’d been avoiding finally summoned me.

I made a quick trip to the bathroom and as I washed my hands I looked at myself in the mirror. Despite how different my life had become, my reflection hadn’t changed much in the past couple months. Pale skin, blue eyes almost too big for my face. My light brown hair was a little longer. Funny that Nicole hadn’t complained about that, since she was my hairdresser. Admittedly she had other things on her mind. Normal, human things like getting married and what to have for dinner. I fought to contain my anger over my own fate.

I thought back to the times when, even as a little girl I stood in front of the same mirror wondering what was so different about me. Why wasn’t I like all the other kids at school?

Before she completely succumbed to madness, my mother would sometimes stand behind me and run a comb through my hair. I’d watch her face in the mirror as she hummed tunes to me. Her eyes were an extraordinary shade of green, her hair a pale gold. I wished so many times that I looked like her, the way Nicole did. I sometimes wondered if Nicole was really her daughter and I was adopted.

I was about eight years old when I found the old photo booth shots of my parents together before I was born. That’s when I discovered that I looked just like my father, which even now caused a bittersweet feeling in my chest. Knowing where you come from might not be essential, but it can change the way you see yourself. Knowing that my father loved my mother somehow made me feel like I was part of something I’d been missing. Little did I know that what I was part of was a life that felt more like a fairytale to me with each day.

Allison?

Niamh’s thoughts reached in to my mind, and I shook my head to clear it.

If you’re not busy, I thought we could work on glamour in Liam’s yard.

I looked at my reflection one last time before heading down the stairs to meet Niamh next door. The rising sun cast a warm glow over the backyard. I walked through the little path in the wooded area between my house and Liam’s.

Niamh sat on a large boulder wearing something I never thought I’d see her in — jeans and a T-shirt with flip-flops. She normally dressed in pencil skirts and pant suits straight out of a Neiman Marcus catalog. The change made her seem less intimidating, she could almost pass for human.

“Good morning,” Niamh said in her usual self-assured manner.

“Morning,” I said, lowering myself onto the boulder beside her.

“I hear my father has been giving you a hard time,” she said, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

I huffed. “You could say that.” If giving me a hard time translated to reveling in making me squirm at every opportunity.

Niamh smiled and I knew she heard it all. “This is what happens when my mother is focused on something. He gets bored.”

“What’s your mother so focused on?” I asked.

She stood up. “Mainly Aoife. And you.”

A surprised laugh escaped my lips. “Why me?”

“We can talk about that later,” she said, gesturing for me to get up. “Right now I want to show you how to see through glamour, while there’s nobody around.”

I got up and blew out a slow breath. My hands hung limply at my sides, not sure what I was supposed to do.

“Just watch me for a minute. You don’t have to do anything yet.”

Faster than a thought she appeared just a foot in front of me. Her clear blue eyes met mine and like a snake shedding its skin, she disappeared.

People can’t see me if I don’t want them to. I’ve basically compelled you not to see me. But you have The Sight, so you just have to look harder.

My father had taught me to see through glamour. I looked away from where I knew she stood and attempted to see her out of the corner of my eye. A silver sheen shaped like her body came into view. I looked straight at her outline until she came back into focus. Most humans couldn’t do that.

“I can tell the instant you see me, not only because I hear your thoughts, but because your eyes naturally meet mine.”

I nodded and shifted my weight.

“Let’s try something else, so you can get an idea of what’s possible.”

Before she finished speaking, her form melted into Nicole. I blinked. It was eerie that nothing gave her away. Her posture was a little bit sassy, just like my cousin’s.

“I don’t actually look any different, it’s all in how you perceive me,” Niamh said in Nicole’s voice. “I don’t sound any different either.”