Lampposts, Demonic Siblings and a Broken Toaster. Can It Get Any Worse?

Saying that Crystal looked nervous was a heck of an understatement; she looked like she was going to crap herself. After the toaster incident Crystal called me back at my house and told me that she was coming over to explain it to me. Luckily, my mom wasn't in, otherwis eit would have been pretty damn hard to explain it to her...

We were now in my bedroom. She perched on the edge of my blue bean-bag, and basically tried not to cry. To calm her down I gave her a cup of tea - she loves tea - and hoped to God that it would work.

I knew that patience was the key here, so I just lay down on my bed doing homework until Crystal felt like talking.

Eventually, she spoke up.

"I need to tell you something important."

I put my homework down and looked at her. "I'm listening."

She took a deep breath. "I... Never actually granted your wish. It wasn't my magic that made all this... Happen."

My jaw dropped. "Huh?"

"Someone else did it."

"Who?"

She gulped before looking at my pendant, then up at me. "You."

"But... I... What? Really?" This was insane. Crystal was insane, surely? I gave her an incredulos look and struggled to close my mouth. I was gaping like a guppy. I couldn't have catalysed whatever magical reaction this was... I wasn't a magical being, surely? "Explain?"

She looked uncomfortable, but I don't blame her. Here she was trying to tell me a hard truth that I probably wasn't ready to hear, and all I could do was stare and stutter. I mean really, could I have been shaking any more than I already was.

She sighed heavily. "Okay well... You know that pendant around your neck?" I nodded for her to continue. "Well... It's kinda ancient. That sun is the symbol for this particular clan from nearly one thousand years ago, called the Risen, and they hosted magical blood.

"Their job was basically to ensure balance between two worlds; planet Earth, and another planet which we call the Spark. Portals existed between these two worlds and it was the Risen's task to guard these portals.
You see, beings from Earth would be damaged if they happened upon a world like the Spark - their brains just aren't capable of comprehending magic or the idea of space/time travel. Inhabitants of the Spark could also be dangerous to humans if they crossed the threshold into this world - magical beings often have the upper hand of control and as I mentioned earlier, the Risen's job was to ensure balance between these two worlds.

Anyway, one day a powerful family of demons from the other side of the portal - called the Demitri Brethren - decided to challenge the Risen. Despite the fact that they were already the most powerful family in the whole of the Spark, they wanted to invade Earth in order to obtain more power. And so the Risen and the Brethren were at war - but sadly, the Risen were losing fast.

The Risen were powerful themselves, but they knew that they were no match for the Demitri Brethren, so they sought the help of the good fairy Eliza, who agreed to lend them her magic. Eliza then transferred all her powers into a Risen family heirloom - a pendant with their symbol on it."

I twirled my own pendant around my fingers. "Is it something to do with my necklace?"

"Don't interrupt! As I was saying, with the pendant containing Eliza's essence, the Risen managed to defeat the Brethren, but at the cost of all but two lives. One remaining Risen, and one remaining Demitri were the sole survivors of the war. Darius, the last Demitri, knew that as long as Ember, the last Risen, wielded Eliza's essence then she was impossible to defeat. Likewise with Ember, she knew that if she released Eliza from the necklace then all hope would be lost. And so, Darius returned to the Spark, and Ember continued to guard the portals with the help of Eliza's essence..."

"Wait, but why didn't Ember just strike down Darius if she was more powerful than him?"

Crystal looked confused for a second as she was trying to remember. "That's the really important detail that I keep forgetting. The main thing is that Ember's descendants continue the task of guarding the portals, and you're wearing Eliza's essence around your neck."

"So what you're saying is... There's a fairy in my necklace?"

"A powerful one."

"Am I a descendant of the Risen?"

"Yup."

"So what's this chaotic story got to do with me granting my own wish?"

"Oh yeah! That's what I forgot!" Crystal exclaimed, slapping her hand to her forehead. "Basically, there are two key factors. One is that the pendants power activates when a Demitri demon is near, and since you're a descendant of the Risen you still have your own power, so the moment you made that wish then you activated your own power.

"Magical creatures are attracted to magical beings - by activating your own powers you were able to see the gatherings of shadow walkers and Nibblers. The only thing I'm slightly concerned about is that your powers were only supposed to activate when you turn twenty."

"So I'm three years early... Does that matter?"

"Of course it matters! What, do you think you're a special case?" Suddenly Crystal was seething, and it scared me. Crystal wasn't the type of person to lose a fuse - sure, she got pretty upset at times and it's so easy for her to cry, but never had I heard her shout so loud! "The only reason you've started early is because there's a bloody Demitri nearby! Don't you understand? You're in danger!"

"Oh."

I'm not gonna lie, I felt pretty darn stupid, obviously the Demitri Brethren wanted this necklace because of the unimaginable power it contained, but if I released Eliza then that would make me vulnerable to the demons. God, this was weird.

I don't understand how I managed to understand this concept of magic so easily - and I was a descendant of some weird, magical alien race? Dude, this was just surreal....

"So wait a minute, if my family is the Risen, then who's guarding the portals?"

Crystal looked thoughtful. "Hmm... Let's see... The main portal is found in London, and last I heard, it was a man called George Hartley."

My jaw dropped.

"That's my father!"

I suppose it made sense when I thought about it. I couldn't recall my father because he was basically rarely at home, and when my brother died then I saw him even less. My brother was meant to take over the 'family business' which they told me was a field in security, but I had no idea that the real security was this extensive. The pendant I was wearing used to belong to Jack as well, but when he died I retrieved it from his room and kept it as a reminder of the brother I lost.

My father lived all the way in London, and I was here in California. That's about 10 hours difference and almost a thousand dollars plane ride.

But I knew that I had to find him.