Althena

23. Darkburn

I sit back in my seat and stare out the window. I watch the city get smaller. I whisper, "Goodbye, life."

"How long is the flight, ma'am?" The old lady asks the stewardess.

"Just under 17 hours."

She starts knitting.

I stare out the window. I'm going to be really far from home this time.

There are a few dings. "You can unfasten your safety belts now."

I wish one of them was with me. I text Mike.

-Darkburn. Landing in 17 hours.-

3 minutes pass.

-Finding tickets now.-

Chris texts me 10 minutes later.

-They're having problems finding tickets. Turns out, flights only run between cities every other week. They just missed it. It may be 2 weeks.-

I sit my phone down and stare out the window. This is going to be a long flight. I eat dinner at some point. I know I'm in shock. My whole world ended again. I can't help but wonder what kind of person my grandma will be. I wonder if she'll hate me. Will she blame me for her daughter running away? I guess there's no use wondering about it right now. I'll find out soon enough.

I text Mike again. -I love you. Good night.-

He doesn't text back. Maybe things moved too fast with him and he changed his mind. I still smell him on me. I miss him. He probably gave up.

The lady helps me lay my seat flat. I lay and stare out the window. I can't imagine my life without him. It would break me if he left.

-Good morning, babygirl. I love you too.-

The sun is coming through my window. I don't know if it was the sun or the text that woke me up.

-I miss you.-

-I wish I was with you. I'm figuring it out. Traveling between cities isn't easy. I'll get to you though. I promise.-

-Are you still mine?-

-I've always been yours, and I'll always be yours. This was too soon for us to be separated, but I'll get there as soon as I can and put your mind at ease.-

-You won't change your mind?-

-My mind's been made up since you were born. It's not going to change now. Rest your head and don't even think about things like that. We'll be together again soon.-

-I love you.-

-I love you too.-

"Your breakfast. We'll be landing in an hour."

"Thank you."

-Landing in an hour.-

-Call me and let me know you landed safely.-

I eat the food and stare out the window. I'm still in shock. I can't believe I'm going to meet my grandma. I didn't even know I had a grandma. I wonder if I have anyone else. Cousins or more aunts. I find myself getting excited.

Then I see Darkburn. It's bigger than Crystal Falls. I can tell that from the air. I turn the flash off on my phone and try to take some pictures out the window. It seems like we circle. Then get lower.

I eat the rest of the food through my fidgets. The stewardess giggles and gives me water. I glue myself to the window. Lower and lower we go. We seem to be landing near the edge of it. I think we're on the north side. Then we land. The airport is a lot like woodland. Maybe 4 runways and a big building.

The plane stops and I start to shake. What if she's mean? I have nobody here.

The little old lady pulls me up. "Now we get off the plane."

She pushes me around to the luggage thing. Then she collects the bags. They're floating around us.

I call Mike.

"I made it."

"Have you met your grandma?"

"No."

"Relax."

"This way sweetie." She pulls on me.

"Who was that?"

"Your mom's friend. From the woods. She's here."

I can almost hear him thinking. "Is she?"

"No. She was friends with my grandma. She was watching me."

"GLINDA WHERE YOU AT, YOU OLD..."

"DON'T YOU EVEN SAY IT, YOU DINOSAUR." An equally old woman stands up from beside the door. She has long silvery gray hair. She's incredibly fit for looking 60 years old.

"WHO YOU CALLING DINOSAUR? YOU'RE OLDER THAN ME. YOU OLD GEEZER."

"IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?"

I'm standing there with my phone to my head, staring at them. They're yelling at each other from halfway across the airport.

"YES, SHE'S IN SHOCK." She shakes me a little. "THIS IS YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER."

"COME HERE CHILD. I DON'T SEE WELL. WHY ARE YOU OVER THERE?"

"HER FEET ARE STUCK AND I'M OLD."

A lady in a uniform runs over to me. "Is there anything I can help with?"

I shake my head. I have no words for this.

"Just shove her. She's stuck."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Do you need some water, miss?"

One of my bags hits me on the back. "NOW SHE'S MOVING, GLINDA. WE'RE COMING."

"ABOUT TIME. I SHOULD HAVE LUNCH ATE BY THE TIME YOU GET HERE."

"YOU COULD HELP. I HAVE ALL THESE BAGS."

"THAT'S WHAT THE AIRPORT PEOPLE DO."

"Mike."

"I'm here, baby. They sound interesting."

She keeps pulling me. We finally get to the other one. "It really is you, Phina. So, this is my granddaughter?"

"Yea, she's on the phone with her boyfriend. She keeps getting stuck though." Phina shakes me.

"Maybe he's the problem."

"I don't think so."

Grandma grabs my phone. "She'll have to call you back." She hangs up on him and hands me my phone. "I'm Granny."

My legs give out and I drop to my knees.

"She keeps getting stuck. I don't know."

An airline man runs over. He gets me in a seat and gives me water. "Do you need a doctor, miss?"

Glinda smacks him with a bag. "She don't need a doctor. She needs air."

Phina tilts her head. "A stiff drink, maybe. It was a long flight."

Glinda nods. "Let's go have a drink. That'll wake her ass up. Put her in the car."

Phina agrees, "Yea, put her in the car."

The man helps me to the car and gets me in the back seat. I don't think he's supposed to do that, but he seems happier that we're out of the airport. "You have a wonderful day." He runs back in.

The bags pack themselves around me and off we go. I stare out the window. The further we go, the more it seems like woodland. Then we come up to shops. It seems like a little town. This is weird.

"Are we in Darkburn?"

Glinda slams on the brakes. "SHE SPEAKS."

"WELL, SHE'S NOT A MUTE. WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN?"

"SHE HASN'T SAID ANYTHING."

"JUST GO. YOU'RE PARKED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD."

"That's true. Where was I going?"

"TO GET A DRINK." Phina rubs her face. "You haven't changed at all. And yes. We are in Darkburn. This is the Mystic District. We're in the far North of Darkburn. Lots of trees and space here. I think that's why your mom picked Woodland Pack. The west district of Crystal Falls was the same way. It reminded her of home."

"My mom grew up here?"

"Yes she did."

"Here it is."

I get out of the car with them. My legs seem to be working again. A big sign reads, 'The Enchanted Bean' I take a picture of it for Mike. There's a crystal display in the window and herbs are drying on top of it.

A bell rings as we walk in. There are plants on shelves around the walls. Some of them are in interesting flower pots. I see a skull flowerpot. It seems real. Real size of a werewolf skull anyway.

A plump woman with turquoise hair smiles at me. "What can I get you?"

I fall into a chair.

Phina answers. "Bring us all..."

A voice comes from the back. "BREWSTON... WE HAVE A PROBLEM."

The turquoise hair woman takes a couple of steps towards the back. "What now?"

"The moon-infused beans left."

"Where did they go?"

"Beats me, but they're not here."

"I'll take it off the menu and infuse some more tonight." She smiles at us. "We've lost the moon-infused beans. Always flying out the windows when the full moons get close. Poor things get so excited about it."

"It's fine. We'll take 3 large awakening blend coffees with the spirit and spice, Anna."

"Nice choice. I'll get those right out for you."

Phina nods. "That should wake her up."

I rub my head. "So, this is Darkburn?"

Glinda smiles. "Yep. Mystic District in Darkburn. We're in the far north. You're getting it. Have some coffee."

I take a big drink and my eyes start watering. It is spicy. I take a picture of the menu while I try to get my mouth to stop burning.

"How are things here?"

"Same old thing. Beryn still thinks we shouldn't send outsiders to the central district. He's an old coot. Needs to give his son the place now."

I try to think of something to say. "How many districts are here?"

"14 maybe. Something like that. I don't know if the slums district is really a district or if we just call it that."

Phina nods. "Sounds about right. Bazaar. Academic. Green. Religion. West Gate. Central. Mystic. Entertainment. Riverside. Docks. Beach. Palace. North. And maybe slums."

"I thought this is the north?"

"Darkburn has 2 sections. A river runs through the middle. So, the riverside district is actually in the middle. But anyway, the North district is on the north side of the east side of the river. Mystic District is on the north side of the west side of the river."

I shake my head. "Just stop."

"Yea, we'll find you a map."

"It don't matter anyway. So, what do you do? I missed your whole life."

"I own a coffee shop bakery."

"How old are you?"

"17."

Glinda takes a drink. "Do kids not go to school anymore?"

"Your worthless daughter took her in and refused to send her. She's been on her own for a while. The queen finally got the bright idea to search for her family. Took years."

"I'll send her to school."

"No." I shake my head. "I have a tutor at home. It's been too long since I've been to school."

"And the boyfriend?"

"Mike. He's the delta for the pack I lived in with my mother."

Phina nods. "He's a good boy. They'll end up as mates."

"That's what you said about that jackass and Aurel."

Phina slams her cup down. "I was right."

"You know who my dad is?"

"Let's save that for another day, sweetie." Glinda pats my hand and smiles. "You're in Darkburn. I'm Granny."

I nod. "I'm in Darkburn."

Phina stands up. "Take me home. I haven't been there in 18 years."

"I think it fell over."

"I'll put it back up."