away.”
His lips turned up in what was meant to be a smile. It was the first time I’d seen him attempt one, to my recollection, and it was off. Like he’d borrowed it from someone and it didn’t fit right. Maybe with some alterations or if he could fill it out better. In its current state, though, the gesture was disarming.
“Oh, here comes the waitress,” I said. “She won’t recognize you, will she?”
“Of course she will. I’ve known her since I was a child. Stella,” he said as she approached, “this is Deandra Bjorn, an old friend of my family. Deandra, Stella—my cousin.”
“It’s true, then,” she breathed. “You’re Edina’s. I didn’t believe it.”
I shrugged and mumbled “Nice to meet you” as she studied my features. She reminded me of the women I used to see back home—the ones you knew just by looking at them came from a long line of farming families. Strong-backed, barrel-chested women with biceps and quads that would put weight lifters to shame. Women who could give birth to a strapping son one day and be back on the tractor the next.
“So this is one of the people who’s helping you?” I asked, once Deandra left for my water.
“Yes, Deandra’s family and my family—your family—have been close for many years.”
“How do you know that you can trust them?”
“Magical families like ours have always stuck together. We have to.”
“What do you mean, ‘magical families’?” I asked.
“Well, our family isn’t your typically-evolved squirrel or salamander. We’re descended of dragons, a mighty, magical creature. As is your father’s omni blood,” he mused. “So you have magical forbearers on both sides.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying ‘magical creatures’ like unicorns and merpeople? Is that what you’re talking about?”
Stryde lifted a sleek black brow. “Merpeople are just regular people with aquatic ancestors. It’s likely someone in your world caught a glimpse of one of us, and thus a myth was born.”
“Uh-huh. And unicorns? You gonna tell me they’re real, too?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Stryde shook his head as if I’d lost my mind.
“ Me ? You think I’m being ridiculous?”
He didn’t know how to respond to that. The implication of course was that’s exactly what he thought.
“Deandra’s family are great bears,” Stryde went on after clearing his throat. “Besides their powerful natural animal forms, they’re also magical skinchangers. They can inhabit the minds of animals. Or people. And because people fear being inhabited, throughout history Deandra’s family has faced prejudice. Not to the extreme we dragons face now, but prejudice as a result of fear, nonetheless.”
Stryde’s green eyes clouded over as his thoughts took him far away. “Several hundred years ago a woman murdered her own husband, her entire family. When they caught her she claimed she’d been possessed. Fear spread like wildfire of the Bjorns and others like them. Everyone known to be a skinchanger was rounded up by mobs and accused of awful, evil things. People who the week before patronized the Bjorn’s general store—who hired Deandra to babysit their children—they lost their minds to fear of the unknown, the unusual. They accused the neighbors they’d known their entire lives of intending to mind-rape them.”
“My god. That’s awful.” I’d not heard the story, though it was similar to so many throughout history. Fear of the unknown, prejudice, and violence against those that were different. It was a tragic story that repeated itself time and again. “What happened? To the woman. To the Bjorns.”
“The woman was discovered to be schizophrenic and had hurt her family in a psychotic episode. The Bjorns and others like them were innocent, though they faced continued prejudice. They do still, but refuse to back down. They opened this cafe. They continue to serve and help their neighbors in spite of
His lips turned up in what was meant to be a smile. It was the first time I’d seen him attempt one, to my recollection, and it was off. Like he’d borrowed it from someone and it didn’t fit right. Maybe with some alterations or if he could fill it out better. In its current state, though, the gesture was disarming.
“Oh, here comes the waitress,” I said. “She won’t recognize you, will she?”
“Of course she will. I’ve known her since I was a child. Stella,” he said as she approached, “this is Deandra Bjorn, an old friend of my family. Deandra, Stella—my cousin.”
“It’s true, then,” she breathed. “You’re Edina’s. I didn’t believe it.”
I shrugged and mumbled “Nice to meet you” as she studied my features. She reminded me of the women I used to see back home—the ones you knew just by looking at them came from a long line of farming families. Strong-backed, barrel-chested women with biceps and quads that would put weight lifters to shame. Women who could give birth to a strapping son one day and be back on the tractor the next.
“So this is one of the people who’s helping you?” I asked, once Deandra left for my water.
“Yes, Deandra’s family and my family—your family—have been close for many years.”
“How do you know that you can trust them?”
“Magical families like ours have always stuck together. We have to.”
“What do you mean, ‘magical families’?” I asked.
“Well, our family isn’t your typically-evolved squirrel or salamander. We’re descended of dragons, a mighty, magical creature. As is your father’s omni blood,” he mused. “So you have magical forbearers on both sides.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying ‘magical creatures’ like unicorns and merpeople? Is that what you’re talking about?”
Stryde lifted a sleek black brow. “Merpeople are just regular people with aquatic ancestors. It’s likely someone in your world caught a glimpse of one of us, and thus a myth was born.”
“Uh-huh. And unicorns? You gonna tell me they’re real, too?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Stryde shook his head as if I’d lost my mind.
“ Me ? You think I’m being ridiculous?”
He didn’t know how to respond to that. The implication of course was that’s exactly what he thought.
“Deandra’s family are great bears,” Stryde went on after clearing his throat. “Besides their powerful natural animal forms, they’re also magical skinchangers. They can inhabit the minds of animals. Or people. And because people fear being inhabited, throughout history Deandra’s family has faced prejudice. Not to the extreme we dragons face now, but prejudice as a result of fear, nonetheless.”
Stryde’s green eyes clouded over as his thoughts took him far away. “Several hundred years ago a woman murdered her own husband, her entire family. When they caught her she claimed she’d been possessed. Fear spread like wildfire of the Bjorns and others like them. Everyone known to be a skinchanger was rounded up by mobs and accused of awful, evil things. People who the week before patronized the Bjorn’s general store—who hired Deandra to babysit their children—they lost their minds to fear of the unknown, the unusual. They accused the neighbors they’d known their entire lives of intending to mind-rape them.”
“My god. That’s awful.” I’d not heard the story, though it was similar to so many throughout history. Fear of the unknown, prejudice, and violence against those that were different. It was a tragic story that repeated itself time and again. “What happened? To the woman. To the Bjorns.”
“The woman was discovered to be schizophrenic and had hurt her family in a psychotic episode. The Bjorns and others like them were innocent, though they faced continued prejudice. They do still, but refuse to back down. They opened this cafe. They continue to serve and help their neighbors in spite of
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