A Beast Among Gods (The Mac Tire Chronicles) by Garnet Davenport (big screen ebook reader txt) 📗

suppose this is Kendra’s boy,” Aodhan said, looking between the man and me.

“Who’s Kendra?” I asked.

“Kendra Fabrizio. Your mother,” Aodhan explained.

My brow furrowed. I was angry I hadn’t known her name and angry this man I’d never met before knew it. I could feel myself getting angrier and angrier as he stood there smiling at me.

“William, are you all right?” the man asked.

Of course I wasn’t all right. I had been taken away from the only family I had ever known, my mother and grandmother were murdered, and I was driven to a place to be dropped off with complete strangers. No, all right is not happening. As I became angrier, everyone around me started to back away slowly. My vision darkened, and a blur fixed over everything I was seeing until I felt my muscles and bones shift and a gigantic roar came from the deepest pit inside of me as an explosion of rage.

➣ Chapter 6

Expression of Powers

I stood there breathing heavy and staring at the ground between them, waiting for one of them to make their move. The man backed up with a gasp, but the one called Aodhan moved his arms around in a circular motion, and a light appeared. This brilliant light grew between his hands before he pushed it forcefully at me. I watched as it flew through the air and hit my chest as I absorbed it.

I felt an immediate sense of ease before my eyes closed and I felt a restful sleep come. I walked through my dreams as if I were truly there, and I remembered it so vividly. My mom had been walking toward me in the forest, trying to show me all the details of where we were. The moss on the trees and the way the branches grow. All the small details that humans don’t notice as they enjoy a nature that was meant just for creatures and mystics. When I started to wake, I realized I had been moved and had been sleeping away the day on the couch.

“…the abilities he has are growing stronger. He will mature before he is ten. I can see I will be needed throughout the next few years. As he grows, so will his power, and so will the desire to have him in their possession.”

“Aodhan, I’m scared for that young boy. He’s already lost so much,” the woman said.

“I know, Diane. We will keep him safe.” The man grabbed the woman’s hand. They had real love for each other, and they showed it in everything they did.

“Diane, John, this will not be an easy road. But I will do what I can to keep you all safe,” Aodhan said.

“We can’t thank you enough,” the woman said.

“It is I that thanks you. This is not a small task I have given to you. The boy will be important to the survival of the mystic species.”

How could I ever be so important that so many lives would have to change? They noticed that I was awake and sitting up on the couch, watching them.

“William, do you know what happened?” Aodhan asked.

“I was angry. My mom always sang to me to calm me down,” I said.

“What was it your mom sang?” the woman asked.

“I don’t know,” I said with a sniffle. I couldn’t remember the words or even the tune to the music. It was as if it vanished from my mind, and the harder I tried to remember it, the more it ran from me. Finally, it was a distant memory that I could barely hold on to and that would never resurface again. It was almost as if it never happened.

“That’s okay, William. No need now. But you will have to fight to find your serenity,” Aodhan said.

“Why?” I asked.

He kneeled down in front of me and placed his pointer finger on my chest over my heart. “Because, inside is good and evil, and they are fighting against each other all the time. Your mac tire is strong, but the beast can be stronger. It is your job to not let the beast control you, but you control your beast.”

“How will I control it?” I asked.

“You keep a tight hold on your mac tire and don’t let that anger take you over,” he said.

I nodded.

“Good,” he said and turned to the man and woman. “I’ve placed a protection around the property. I will have to come back to re-enforce it by this time next year. But if you notice anything strange, don’t hesitate to get me. It is imperative that we keep him safe.”

“Thank you again. We feel much better with you on our side,” the man said, shaking Aodhan’s hand.

“I am always on our side.”

And with that, he was out the front door and vanished in an eerie fog covering the ground and swallowing him as he walked away.

“Who was he?” I asked in a whisper.

“He is a strong man who wants to protect all mystics,” the man said.

“Even me?” I asked.

“Especially you,” the woman said.

“But why?” I asked.

“Because you are worth protecting,” the man said.

Those words resonated with me for years to come. Any time I would feel trapped or need to calm myself, I would think about how my foster parents loved me and how I was worth being protected. I would sit under this little rocky ledge and watch the rain fall when it stormed, like how my mother would make me watch the storms as they traveled overhead. She would say, “There’s so much you can learn by just watching the way she moves. See how she moves with passion and intent.” I would watch Mother Nature as she blew through and destroyed some places and missed others. That was the definition of my life.

Two months after I arrived at the little house in Waco, Texas, I started calling the man and woman by their names, Diane and John. The first time I did this, the smile that