~Magic, love and betrayal~
Lisa Cartwright's mundane life, as a demon-killing shadowhunter, was shaken at its foundations by a series of mysterious murders. As she starts her quest, determined to find the cause of these assassinations, she finds th...
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"Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart." -Haruki Murakami
Lisa was lying on the couch in her mother's house in Idris. She was about to learn the truth about her father, though she wasn't sure she was ready. Her mother's memories flooded into her head.
*
She saw Irina walking around in a dress. Her hair was still completely dark brown and the corners of her mouth pointed up. She was standing at a villa in the middle of a forest. Lisa recognized the place, it was their old house in the park of Wijnegem, before her mother went to live in Idris and she in the Institute.
Irina looked at the lake as if she expected a dolphin to come out at any moment. Suddenly the water of the lake began to glisten, in all the years she'd lived there, she'd never seen anything like it. The water began to bubble like a fountain. A young man came out of the water, her mother ran towards him as if what happened was quite normal. The lake had to be an entrance to the Court of Seelie, the realm of the Fey. This was often a hole in a log - or a pond in a park, but she'd never thought of it that way. Lisa realized with a shock that the boy was a fairy, that could be her father.
She took him in completely. He wore simple trousers and a loose shirt. They were both made of green-colored leaves. His hair was just above his shoulders, white-blond and completely dry, even though he had just come out of the water. His face was crisscrossed with blue stripes. At first, she thought they were tattoos, like elves used to have. Only then did she realize it was blood, she guessed it wasn't from an angry cat.
"Is it time?" Her mother looked at the elf anxiously, he nodded back. Irina visibly swallowed, tears welling up in her eyes. The boy gave her mother a tender kiss on her forehead. They both seemed terrified, Lisa wanted to know why. "Emyr," she whispered, "we can go to Idris, or to the Silent Brothers, they know a solution." Emyr shook his head slightly.
"My love, I only came here to say goodbye to you." His hand brushed her cheek and dried her tears.
"Run," she whispered softly, "please." Another tear rolled down her cheek, she winked it away. Emyr cupped her head and stared over her head.
"They promised me they'd leave you alone if I came along willingly," he said in a shaky voice. Irina pushed him away, she looked as if he had betrayed her. Emyr smiled sadly as he slowly stepped back, towards the lake. Her mother froze as the water bubbled up luminously again. Four Fairy Knights emerged from the lake and appeared to float on the water. All four wore silver armor and a wooden bow.
"Emyr-Y-Coll,' said one of them, 'you are summoned by the Seelie Queen. You will stand trial for your misdeeds." Lisa was startled when her mother drew her seraph blade and walked towards the elves. She had never expected such courage from her. But with a flick of the hand, Emyr made sure the branches of the trees stopped her.
