"So where is my home?" I blurted out. I hadn't meant to say it, but it still came out. Who was I? A witch? A Goddess? Still, I was at least partly human. The blood rushing to my face could tell anyone that.
"I had hoped that your home could be with me," He said hesitantly, as if uncertain about how I might respond.
"I want that to be true," I said, my voice cracking. I turned away embarrassed, and once again he wrapped his arms around me.
He sighed. "I don't know how to go about this." I could tell he was frustrated.
"It calls to you doesn't it?" I asked. It hadn't ever occurred to me that he wouldn't always be here.
He nodded slowly. "My time here was always temporary."
"I'm not sure where that leaves me," I said. I was truly holding back tears now. I was upset about the idea of being away from Kairn, but there was more to it than that. It was easy to see that Kairn had a destiny, a clear fate that he was meant to follow, while I was lost, wandering in the darkness. Literally.
He laced his fingers between mine. "We'll figure this out."
I closed my eyes and breathed in his smell. "I know." I hoped it was true.
After a while, we began to unpack my belongings in earnest. It was a beautiful part of the campus. Never had I seen stars so clear in my life. We set up a fire in the clearing between the cottages and roasted marshmallows, while Lucian began to tell us the story of the banshee that wandered the school.
The fire crackled, casting a flickering glow on his face as he told the story.
"They say that she was once a girl here, but I'm not so sure. The fair folk have their ways of deception." He remarked cryptically.
"Why was she here?" I asked, shuddering as I remembered the stooped creature by the stream.
"Magical scholars don't really know what the true purpose of the banshee is, but if the legends are to be believed then she is a harbinger," Lucian replied.
I gave Lucian the enthusiastic response he wanted as he began to take on a teacherly persona, "What kind of harbinger?"
"A harbinger of death." He stated, looking pleased with himself for being sufficiently dramatic.
Kairn scoffed audibly, but I ignored him.
Lucian turned to Kairn, "You know you shouldn't laugh Mr. Wilderwood."
"Why not?" Kairn said, playing along, though looking a bit put out.
"Because you are a harbinger as well," Lucian said, more serious now. "Every time the Lord of the Wild Hunt has come to Earth, you have brought change of one form or another. Plague, war... I could go on."
"That's alright," Kairn muttered.
I was intrigued. "Do you remember all that?" I asked. "All the other times you have been incarnated on Earth?" I added.
Kairn looked uncomfortable, for the first time I could remember. "Well, sort of." He hedged. "It's like a dream. I can remember the events for the most part, but It doesn't feel like me. It's like remembering something someone else did."
I wasn't sure why, but something about that created an uncomfortable itch.
"How interesting," Lucian pulled his glasses from his pocket and began to take notes. "Would you say that your personality characteristics maintain consistency over each of your incarnations?"
Kairn looked off into the distance for a moment, calculating his response. "I don't know exactly. We definitely all share similar characteristics to some extent, but it doesn't feel like me."
Lucian was in full academic mode now. He asked, "Would you say that's because there's a gap between your lifetimes?"
Kairn wouldn't meet my eyes. "Maybe." I could see his eyes sharpening as he grew weary of the questions.
I coughed, trying to alert Lucian that now was a good time to stop. Lucian looked at me then said, "Oh, ahem." He changed the subject awkwardly and we moved on.
The night drew to a close, and I had hoped that Kairn would stay with me, but he had things to attend to, so I spent the first night in my new cottage alone. It was peaceful actually. The sounds of the outdoors were so close. Nox settled happily in the window as I changed the sheets and I knew I would fall asleep quickly.
3
A Place of Power
The semester started quietly. Since I was off of the main campus, I hardly noticed a difference. It was strange, not being a part of the hustle and bustle of the new school year. That had been my life for the past two years. I hadn't wanted to come back, but I was strangely saddened by what I was missing out on. Another part of me was glad that I was isolated from it. Wouldn't it be harder to go back, knowing how I've changed? I’m not the same person I was two years ago.
When Lucian gave me my next assignment, I had mixed feelings about it.
"You want me to make a map?" I asked, still not sure what he wanted from me.
"Exactly," He said. "We need to get an idea of how the liminal corresponds to the physical world. So I want you to make a map of the school."
"Why the school?" I asked. Surely there were better places to map.
"Well, first of all, because that is where we are, and second of all, the school is a place of power. If anywhere is going to have markers in the liminal world it's the school."
I nodded, "How did the school become a place of power." I had heard this fact referenced over my time here, but I never really understood it. "Is it because of all the magic that is performed here?"
"Well no, not entirely. That may serve to amplify it of course, but the founders of the school likely chose this place because of its power. It may have always existed this way."
"So, can I bring a friend?" I asked.
"I don't see why not," He smiled indulgently. Lucian was
