Extended Family

Claire slowly opened her eyes, wincing as the fluorescent light of the room blinded her. She tried to sit up, but a shooting pain ran down her spine, and she remembered the last thing that happened before she passed out. She wanted to growl and curse the old Priestess, but she felt too weak to do more than groan while rolling onto her side. 

  The door slowly opened, and she stiffened, hating how fear coursed through her. Gritting her teeth over her throbbing body's argument, she sat up against the wall on the bed, glaring at the entryway. 

  It was the man, the one who brought Colin in. The one who Jocelyn sent after him. Claire growled softly as he closed the softly, staring at her. He rubbed the back of his head, a clear expression of guilt on his face. Reaching up, he snapped the vent shut, and almost immediately, Claire felt the air lighten. She gave him a confused look, and he explained quietly, "She was having it blown through the vents." 

  The room filled with a choking silence. He finally cleared his throat and whispered with a sorrowful voice, "You do look just like her." 

  Claire tried to push the smell of blood coming from his bandaged hands out of her mind. She swallowed, and he suddenly remembered something. Pulling out a bag, he unwrapped a chunk of raw meat. Claire's eyes, which had not turned back from violet since she had last seen Colin, widened; she was also grateful that it wasn't just the smell of his blood that reignited the hunger in her. He held it towards her and mumbled, "It's for you. I'm sure you're hungry." 

  Despite the shooting pain, she jumped to her feet, snatched it from his hands, and returned to her corner of the bed. Panting slightly from the exertion, she smelled the meat, unable to sense anything off. She finished the large piece in just a few seconds, sighing as she felt her body strengthen from the sustenance. She looked up at the man in thanks but dropped her head back down when she saw the horror on his face. 

  Elias's words rang out through her ears, "You are not an animal; do not act like one." 

  But here, she was an animal. Sitting in that room, her eyes darting towards every bit of movement they sensed, Claire felt like a cornered animal. And there is nothing more dangerous than that. 

  "What do you want?" she hissed, embracing the man's fear. 

  It worked. He swallowed nervously and stared at his feet, unable to meet her eyes. They stood like that, in a seething silence as Claire slowly gained more and more energy back. Finally, the man asked, "Do you remember me?" 

  Claire shook her head immediately, but that wasn't true. He was familiar, and she knew that from the moment she saw him carry Colin's body in. It was an odd familiar – she felt comfortable looking at his face, and it made her remember something happy, but she couldn't place exactly what. 

  At her words, the man looked crestfallen, but he smiled softly and said, "I'm May's brother." He paused, looking for some sign of recognition. "I'm your uncle. Uncle Mackie?" 

  At the mention of her birth mother's name, something within Claire's mind clouded for a second, but then a sharp pain shot through the open wound on her back. She didn't know it, but it was May Heron's spell, protecting her as it fought against Jocelyn's magic. 

  Mack noticed the conflict in her eyes and took a hesitant step forward, holding his hand out in comfort. But the sharp look she cut him said that she did not want for his comfort, nor had he earned the right to offer it. He sighed and sat in the wooden chair in the corner, still watching her. "You look just like May," he repeated, this time a hint of happiness in his voice. 

  "So I've been told," Claire replied carefully. "You were close?"

He nodded, a nostalgic look covering his face. "We're twins. Our dad, your grandpa, died when we were young, so it was just us while your grandma worked." 

  "Do you know where she is?" Any trace of joy faded from Mack's face as he shook his head. "Do you know what she did to me?" 

  "Your mother loves you more than life itself," Mack said firmly. Claire couldn't help but notice that he spoke about her in the present tense, not out of knowledge, but out of sheer determination. "She gave you up to keep you safe. All she wants is for you to be safe." 

  Claire shook her head. She knew that May gave her up for a better life; she had always known that. In fact, the only thing she could remember from the first six years of her life was that her mother loved her. She didn't remember a face, a sound, or even a smell. But Claire never once doubted that her birth mother loved her wholly. 

  "I know that." The hard look on his face dropped into a smile again. "I want to know what kind of spell she put on me. And what is Jocelyn trying to do to me because of it." 

  "She just wanted to keep you safe," he repeated meekly. 

  "And this was her plan?!" Claire shouted suddenly, annoyed with her uncle. At least Jocelyn had given answers, not excuses. "Whatever she did to me, that crazy old bitch is going to kill me-"

  "Jocelyn won't let you die," Mack cut in, suddenly taking a serious tone.

  Claire raised a brow. "Well, she made it sound different. And Robert seems to think she will." 

  At her birth father's name, Mack stiffened. "You saw Robert?" 

  "Yes. He came in here, told me that I look like my mother, and sat in the back quietly as his mother threatened my life." Mack scoffed, and Claire understood immediately that their relationship was beyond strained. "Why is that surprising?" 

  "I thought that he may have come in here on his own. But that coward wouldn't dare." 

  Claire did not think that her father was exactly brave from his behavior, but Mack seemed to take it to a different level. She looked at him, waiting for more, but he was lost in angry memories. 

  "Did he look for me?" she asked, surprising herself with the question. 

  Mack didn't answer right away, but his silence gave Claire the best answer. She stared at the ground, upset with herself for caring. She had never cared about her birth parents before, why should she now? 

  "Yes, he did. But when he didn't find you or May, he decided to pretend that you didn't exist. He gave up."