Five: Ellery Corbin
1103 Words
Five
Ellery Corbin
Weapons.
A full room of weapons. Even as her mom said the words ‘monster hunting legacy’ Elle kept on thinking she had heard wrong. Or maybe her mom really had hit her head too hard. “You can’t be serious, mom. Monsters? That’s fiction.”
Julia Corbin shook her head. “When I married your dad, he was always talking about the family legacy. That they were hunters, but only on his mom’s side. He said that it was an honor only bestowed on the women of his family. He told me that there was a whole, secret community here in Glacier Falls of people called Moon Children.”
“Moon Children?” Elle said with a raised eyebrow.
“The legend has it that the goddess Artemis created the world. She made creatures shaped in her image, but when those creatures became deadly, she created the humans to make sure they could be destroyed. The Huntresses were of her blood, made from her relations with humans. According to your dad, all Corbin women inherit super strength, night vision, quick reflexes, and quick healing abilities on your twenty-first moon.”
Elle raised an eyebrow. “My twenty-first moon? Like my twenty-first birthday? That’d be this weekend.”
Julia nodded. “Before you were born, Sophie kept on taking us to meetings with the Thayer family. They were talking about well….”
“Well, what?”
“You’re part of a treaty. Glacier Falls has a whole secret community called Moon Falls. It’s where the Moon Children live. The Huntresses decide whether or not the Moon Children can live here, but because you’re the last Huntress in the Corbin family it was decided that you’d be mated to Landry Thayer.”
Elle coughed. “What?”
“Mated,” Julia said, “coarse term, I know. But that’s what they call it. Werewolves’ souls tie together.”
“I’m not a werewolf,” Elle said.
“No, but the witches bound you to him. There must always be balance between the Huntresses and the Moon Children. Otherwise, the world will descend into chaos.”
“What do you mean about chaos?”
Julia shook her head. “I don’t know. Your Dad was supposed to be here for this. He was the one who knew everything about the Huntress world. He didn’t inherit any of the powers though, because it only goes to the women in the family.”
Elle took a deep breath. “It’s got to be a lie. I can’t be a Huntress. Magic isn’t real.”
“Talk to Landry Thayer,” Julia said, “he’ll explain everything to you. I bet that’s why he gave you the necklace. Your grandmother probably gave it to him so that you could have something that would know that you were meant to do this.”
“Are you sure you didn’t just hit your head super hard, and that’s why you’ve decided all of this nonsense is real?”
Julia shook her head. “I hit my head hard, but I didn’t hit my head that hard. I know what your dad told me.”
“If there are werewolves in Glacier, were they responsible for killing Dad?”
Her mom took a deep breath. “I don’t know. The wolf I saw today didn’t look like a werewolf. They’re bigger. But I…. your dad wasn’t part of that world. He knew of it, but that was your grandma’s thing. Talk with Landry Thayer. He’ll be able to explain everything to you.”
Elle bit her lip. “Landry Thayer. The Thayer family, that owns half of the town?”
“Yeah. That same one.”
“Right. Not intimidating in the slightest.”
“Look through this stuff if you want. Maybe you’ll find something that will give you answers. But talk to Landry.”
“Mom, he’s Landry Thayer. We don’t exactly run in the same social circles. I don’t have his phone number.”
“Go to Crescent Manor.”
“Ha, the creepy, old mansion that you’re telling me is home to real werewolves?”
“Yes, the one and the same.”
“Why should I believe any of this? It all sounds like nonsense to me.”
“I mean, can you think of another reason Landry Thayer would appear at a graveyard and give you a present?”
Elle fiddled with the necklace that was around her neck. Her mom did have a point. Landry Thayer came from one of the richest families in Glacier Falls. They barely knew each other. There was no reason for him to suddenly take an interest.
“It’s your legacy,” said mom, “it might seem complicated, but I think that we’re going to have to try and understand this whether we like it or not. It might help us find out what it was that took your dad from us too.”
“I suppose your right,” she said, “I guess I’ll be paying a visit to Crescent Manor tomorrow.”
Julia nodded. “I think that’s for the best. Oh, and we might need to call your aunt.”
Elle raised an eyebrow. “I have an aunt?”
“Yes. She hasn’t been to Glacier Falls for ages. She moved away the minute that she turned eighteen. She doesn’t speak to the family, but I try to keep in touch with her. The last time I spoke to her was when your dad died. I think she ran away from all this Huntress stuff. She might be able to give us a little bit of insight.”
“An aunt I never knew I had and a really, really, weird legacy. Happy birthday to me, I guess.”
Her mom patted her on the shoulder. “There are worse things you can get on a birthday.”
“Such as?”
“I had a boyfriend drag me to puppet theater on my twenty-first.”
“Puppet theater?” Elle made a face. “Tell me you broke up with him.”
“Immediately after the first act,” her mom answered, “met your dad at the bar right after, funnily enough.”
Elle smiled. “Well, at least something good came from it. I don’t know what good could possibly come from this.”
“You never know,” said Julia, “but only you can decide if it's good or if it's bad. Won’t know until you explore this world. Find out who you are.”
- Writer
