Citrine

CITRINE

  Kevan’s Journey

  Written by

  Jenny Molyneux & Linda Kutt

  Dedications

  We would like to thank everyone who believed in us.

  You know who you are.

  From the bottom of our hearts thank you.

  Special thanks to all our beta readers, our families and the extraordinary Theresa Lien of Artistic World Graphic for an amazing cover. You rock woman. Norma Hill of Pen and Paper Mama for all your assistant with editing. We look forward to your help with the next book. Yasmin John Thorpe of Orchid House for all your sage advice which has been so appreciated.

  Linda and Jenny

  Citrine Kevan’s Journey by Jenny Molyneux and Linda Kutt

  Copyright October 14, 2013 Jenny Molyneux and Linda Kutt

  This book is a work of fiction and does not refer to any person or persons alive or deceased.

  Prologue

  Do you believe in fairy tales?

  Not like Disney, but the whispered tales from folklore. Have you ever believed in monsters under the bed that will get you if you are not a good little boy or girl? Good.

  Fairy tales of the modern age have been made wholesome for our children, but in fact are based on true stories passed down through the eons, told in darkened rooms or around campfires, about fantastical beings that have walked alongside humankind.

  Stop laughing. Listen to my story and learn about a world most humans refuse to see. “What story?” you may ask. Well, what would you say if I told you the person you are standing next to on the street, or behind at the grocery store, isn’t a human being?

  “Crazy!” you may say. I assure you I am not crazy; I just happen to know about a mystical world that most of human’s do not. Most humans are ignorant of the surrounding supernatural world, filled with fairies, elves, trolls, vampires, demons, and the ever-present immortals.

  “They don’t exist,” you may protest. I will show you differently. Immortals have lived amongst humans since the beginning of time and before. They have stood on the sidelines, watching us as we stumbled and fell throughout our early years, letting us shape our own destiny. And they have also helped us more times than we can we can count.

  I know you are wondering, “If this is true, then where are they now?” First, consider why humans no longer believe in magic. With fear of reprisal from organized religion or of scorn from the scientific community, and with the basic cynicism of humankind, we have taken facts passed down for generations, and turned them into bland children’s stories. If you knew the reality about some of these beings, your children could not sleep at night, and you would never leave your house.

  Humans live in blissful ignorance of the other races. Most people have learned to ignore the unexpected, blocking it from their conscious mind. Those humans able to see the truth are often misdiagnosed as mentally dysfunctional. Of the many races, most look almost human, unless you are one born with natural ability to see their true image.

  Most others who share our world desire to live in peace. However, as always there exist a few nasty characters who consider humankind to be beneath them. Imagine consorting with an inhuman, neo-nazi minded monster with extraordinary strength. Now stir in magic – and you have a demon which preys on victims, enslaving them with impudence.

  Imagine also a race of warriors known as the cairbare, with god-like strength, size, intelligence and long life. For eons they have existed apart from all others. They believe that changing the course of evolution is unjust; except for maintaining balance between good and evil, they will not interfere. The cairbare have thus shielded humans from finding out about the other races, while withdrawing from humans and becoming only observers. These immortals will rise to action and give assistance only at select moments in history when demons or other nasty factions interfere too much with the delicate balance.

  And so it was, about 1700 years ago, that these immortal warriors encountered a threat that would change not only the course of the cairbare race, but the lives of human descendants of Elizabeth Fairbourne, a widow with five children.

  At that point in history, a hedonistic faction of other race, who considered themselves superior to humans, decided to test the warriors of the cairbare to determine if they had withdrawn from our realm due to some temporary distraction, or if their withdraw was due to permanent disinterest, that would allow these others to create havoc and terror amongst the human race. What this group of nasties had not expected was that certain humans, like Elizabeth Fairbourne, had developed abilities which they kept hidden to protect themselves from fanatics who would label them as evil and want them dead.

  Elizabeth was a very powerful sorceress, armed with generations of knowledge passed on to her by her mother and perfected with her own flavour. She recognized and aided all races who came to her, and thus it happened that she heroically rescued the cairbare Prince when he was attacked. Thereafter, a bond of friendship developed between the descendants of Elizabeth Fairbourne and the cairbare warriors, which would endured for hundreds of years.

  As the line of descendants grew and prospered, so did their powers and talents. Over the centuries, both exploration and witch-hunts scattered the family throughout the world. Like the ebbing of the tide, the abilities of some Fairbourne generations were stronger than others.

  The murder of Daphne Bradford changed that. Daphne was a quiet, trusting, and fearless soul. An only child, she was one of the strongest healers the family history had recorded. She welcomed all that sought her assistance, ultimately allowing someone to get slip past her protection wards.

  The last time her husband saw his beloved Daphne was when he witnessed the gore pooling across her lap in the bloodied kitchen. He had never been pleased with Daphne’s supernatural powers or her willingness to help all or the friendship that she maintained with the cairbare. Now, consumed with bitterness and helplessness, he placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the cairbare, telling all who would listen that the warriors were the reason Daphne had been murdered.

  Fueled by hatred and bias, he swore to protect his only daughter. But moving her did not change who or what she was. He raised her to know very little of the family history, believing he was protecting her by instilling mistrust and denial of all other races, especially the cairbare. For the first time in 1700 years, the races were without one of the greatest human line of sorceresses, and the cairbare without one of their oldest friends.

  In the years since Daphne’s senseless murder, the family’s descendants tried to blend into humankind, and maintain a seemly normal life. They lived alongside them, while keeping their powers hidden, with the belief they were protecting themselves, and it only took a couple generations after the murderous tale of Daphne’s death for the Fairbourne women to lose the bond with their powers. Yet stories are not always as they seem, and Daphne’s great granddaughters are about to discover that they could not ignore their destiny forever.

  Now, sit back, relax, and embark with us on a journey that has been centuries in the making, with the immortal cairbare and the gifted Fairbourne women, their lives entangled as they seek to protect humankind and show them their true destiny.

  Let us begin.