December 24, 2002 – 21:35
"There is a lot of truth to that, I think," said Coralis.
"What about your bloodlines? You two are pure-blooded, right?" said Lizzy.
"Yes, we are. Mine originates from the Roman goddess Salacia, we're water mages. We're close to our god and although most of my family lives in an elemental realm… somewhere underground… we never agreed to the radical ideology that wants us to rule over humans. We believe we should guide and protect, not rule and enslave."
Sebastian removed his vest and rolled up the short sleeve of his shirt to reveal what looked like a small tattoo behind his left shoulder, a pattern symbolizing his family goddess.
"When we reach maturity, usually a few years after graduation, but depends on bloodline and, well, life events," continued Sebastian while putting his vest back on, "we get the mark of our family god. It appears on our skin overnight or gradually, depending on the bloodline."
"Oh, so we could potentially be in danger from your kind?" said Raymond.
"We could, but that's also what Coralis and Sebastian do for a living: they go after those who'd pose a risk against us," said Stephanie, resting her head on Sebastian's chest.
What about you?" said Louis while refilling Coralis' glass of wine. "I remember you saying that you didn't know about yours when we talked about Dwayne's age."
Frank moved his hand behind her back and massaged it. She glanced at him before turning her attention to Louis.
"I know very little about my parents, they died when I was a week old. I know my mother was a water mage, but I don't have her energy signature. I don't know anything about my father's bloodline. Some people think he was from a mixed or merged bloodline, but I don't know. I am a spirit mage with a seemingly unique energy signature and I don't know my family god. The relatives on my father's side are either dead or don't want to be found."
"You'll probably find out when you get your god's mark and if you're from a very old bloodline, one of those with a life expectancy of 400+ years, which is probably your case, you probably won't get it before you're 30," said Sebastian.
"Which would explain why so many people want me dead. If I won't join them, then it's better to take me out before I get my god's mark, that is if my father's family was close to their god. However, not all mages get marked by their family god. Even if I'm from one of those bloodlines, given our line of work, doubtful I'd get past 100."
"Wait, you're that powerful and you technically haven't reached maturity?" said Stephanie.
"As far as I know, the only tattoos I have on my body are the one from the EBEE, which can only be seen under blacklight, and the one from the werepanther clan," said Coralis.
Louis got up and walked to a closet at the back of the room.
"Under black light? Think I want to see it unless it's somewhere only Frank should see?"
"Nah it's fine."
"Do you also have one like that, from the CMMA?" said Frank to Sebastian.
"Yes, but you don't need a blacklight to see it," said Sebastian as he lifted the left sleeve of his pants and rolled down his sock to reveal the CMMA logo on the inside of his ankle. "It is very basic because I'm an intern. It will get more intricate as I advance in rank and will involve branding at some point."
Louis handed a blacklight bar to Coralis and she took it with her right hand. She wasn't wearing long sleeves, so she turned it on and hovered it above the inside of her left arm. It revealed a purple 16-point star with a hollowed center.
"What do EBEE and CMMA mean?" said Raymond.
"It relates to one of our workplaces. Both of us are primarily flyball players, but we also work for institutions that act like government and police all at once. EBEE stands for European Bureau of Elemental Energy. CMMA stands for Canadian Ministry of Mythical Affairs," said Coralis.
"Do you know what is known about Audrey's bloodline?" said Linda.
Audrey was struggling to stay awake.
"After this question, I think it's time for us to open the gifts before we lose Audrey," said Lizzy.
"Audrey is an earth mage, but the family god isn't known. I don't think her father's family was close to their family god, but we will see if she gets marked by her family god or if she ever marks a mate. Sometimes, the parents distance themselves from their god, but their children will seek to get close again," said Coralis.
Linda and Lizzy got up and started with gift distributions.
"I didn't know we'd be revealing your world to Ray tonight, so I'll give you mine when we get home. I was told he might come, so I left it at home just in case," whispered Frank in Coralis's ear.
"Don't worry about it. I guess it's elemental related?" said Coralis, turning her head slightly toward him, so their cheeks were touching.
"Yes, I've had some help from Vic, I'll admit."
"Sorry to disturb you, lovebirds, we did get you something," said Louis, handing Coralis a heavy box as big as a phone book.
"Oh, thank you!"
Coralis grabbed the box and unwrapped it. Inside the box was a thick reference manual about gas molecules and elements. She took the book out of the box and opened it, turning some pages.
"I work as an engineer in the aircraft industry. I figured a copy of that kind of reference manual might be of some use to you," said Louis.
"Holy gods from above! I mean… you know what I am and saw what I do with my elemental magic… that shows trust on so many levels, coming from a human family. I don't even know what to say," said Coralis as she got up, deposited the book on her chair and went to hug Louis and Linda. "Thank you."
Sebastian grabbed the book from her chair.
"I will always remember what you've done to save my sister 2 years ago and to rescue Audrey in October. You're no threat to our family."
"You gave Coralis a detailed guide on how to customize and finetune every single spell, which makes a mage like her deadlier than she already is. That indeed shows a deep level of trust there," said Sebastian.
"How many people have you killed, out of curiosity?" said Linda.
"I lost count years ago, to be honest, but I never killed a human," said Coralis as she gave her gift to Frank.
"If I'm to make a wild guess, I'd say it's in the 3-digits, and mostly vampires," said Sebastian.
"Goblins at a close second, I think," said Coralis. "Audrey, I didn't know that everyone tonight would know about us, so I figured I'd give you your gift on New Year's Eve… on par with our End-of-Year traditions…"
Frank chuckled as he unwrapped his.
"You too! Well, Ray, welcome to the all-knowing club," said Frank while looking at what Coralis got him: advanced video and sound editing software. He kissed her. "Thanks luv."
"Glad I wasn't the only one. I didn't bring my gift to Sebastian for the same reason, I gave it to him before we left home. I wouldn't know how to explain the cloak fashion. What did you get her?"
"Well, I didn't give it to her yet, but seeing what Uncle Louis got her, may as well tell. Considering her increasing list of enemies, I want to help her train better, you know, so she could beat everyone coming against her. I asked Vic what's her weakest element, and she told me earth. Metal to be more accurate… so got her a book about that."
Sebastian laughed. Coralis blushed and kissed Frank.
At the end of the evening, Stephanie, Molly, Lizzy and Raymond returned home by taxi. Coralis had to take Audrey home and Sebastian went with her. Audrey went to bed as soon as she got home. Sebastian and Coralis waited for Lizzy to come home before leaving.
"That was quite the night. I was anticipating them asking us a bunch of questions unless unknowing family members were there, but I wasn't anticipating having to reveal us to Raymond. The guy grilled Lizzy and Frank with hard-to-explain questions as soon as he got there."
"It is what it is, hopefully he can keep the secret, but yeah… the questions we got tonight! I knew I'd have to tell Frank about our rituals eventually, at least the one regarding mates. I guess that's done now."
"Honestly, when we spoke about the mating ritual, I nearly proposed to Stephanie. I love her and I know she's the one for me, but I felt it wasn't the time. She's young and human, so I figured it might be better to wait a year, just so I'd know for sure that I am who she wants."
"Understandable. Frank hinted at it the other day, I told him something like that as well. About 2 years ago, I met with my mother's best friend. She told me that my dad was told by his father to not mark his mate, but didn't know why."
"You'll have to tell that to Frank."
"In time, if it gets to that point with him."