Betrayed by Julia Crane

, myself, and the children decided to venture farther into the unknown areas surrounding the castle. Blake flew ahead of us and would loop around on occasion, giving us a report on what to expect. Mostly it was a lot of barren land. We didn’t run across any people or creatures which was strange and sort of eerie.
    Randomly we would stop, springing forth vegetation before moving on.
    “Where are the other people?” I asked Michael. There had to be more than the tribe.
    He gave a shrug. “They would sometimes randomly wander in to the tribe’s cavern but usually there were only a handful of them.”
    Whistling to get Blake’s attention, I waited for him to land beside us and shift into his human form. After quickly conjuring clothes onto him, I asked, “Blake, have you seen large masses of population while you travel around?”
    He scratched the back of his head. “Not really. I mean, I’ve seen groups of about twenty on occasion, but nothing significant. I could fly farther north and south if you want me to search specifically for humans.”
    “He won’t find them,” Nixie said, walking backwards. Her frame was small and slight, but she was starting to get curves. She was stunning and brought out a protective streak in me. I worried someday her heart would be broken by someone unworthy of her attention.
    Narrowing my eyes I asked, “Why not?”
    With a twirl, she said, “They’re underground.”
    My steps faltered. “How can they be underground?”
    Blake nodded his head. “That makes sense. In what used to be the larger cites there are underground tunnels. From my understanding they used to travel that way several decades ago.”
    The other children were quiet, but I could tell they were talking to each other. Drove me crazy I wasn’t included in their conversations.
    Finally, Calamus spoke, “What are you thinking, Mother? Why do you want to know where the rest of the population is? If you wish we could travel around, fertilizing the lands around them, and once they see the crops, they will come to the surface.”
    “Not without me,” I said firmly.
    Turning toward Michael I asked, “How far away are these cities?”
    Blake answered for him. “They are scattered all over the continent. Some are several thousand miles away.”
    “Where is the nearest city?” I asked impatiently.
    Blake gave a shrug. “No idea.”
    Suddenly, Jinx , the other boy, blinked out.
    I closed my eyes, clenching my fist. “Jinx! Get back here!”
    Michael laughed, and threw his arm around my shoulder. I pressed my face into his shoulder, breathing in the faint smell of him. “Why do you even bother to think you can control them?”
    Sometimes I wondered that myself. The thought dismayed me.
    “Where did he go?” I demanded of the others.
    The four of them gave me conspiring grins. “Don’t worry about Jinx, he can take care of himself.”
    Of that I had no doubt—out of all of them Jinx had the most access to the darkness. Whether he would use it or not was another question. Who would have thought that mixed offspring would be stronger than full bred? Sure as Hades not me.
    “Let’s get back to the castle so he knows where to find us.”
    Isla actually rolled her eyes. Now I knew how my mother felt.
    “It’s going to be dark soon,” I said in a lame attempt at making up for trying to be the overprotective mother. I was too young for this job.
    As we turned to walk back through the newly grown woods, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Everyone stilled accept Michael, he didn’t register the threat.
    Without even realizing it, my hands shot up, the dark magick ignited from my core.
    Before the creature stepped out of the shadows, a blast of power erupted from my hands. I would protect my children at all costs; it was as natural as breathing to me.
    The burst of power split one of the trees. It came crashing down, but there was never any danger of it hitting us. Dirt kicked up a cloud of dust, and from