Chapter 10
Shivvy set a brisk pace as she walked away from the old stone farm house, it was early evening, and the cool breeze felt good on her flushed face. She didn't know how much more of her mother's constant barrage of 'you must show yourself off to the best advantage', 'you're a very pretty girl when you don't slouch', or, her personal favourite, 'it's so important for our family that you marry well' she could stand.. Today had been much the same as every other day since her return home, a tedious round of social engagements designed to let the shadowhunter community know that Shivaun McRae was now on the marriage market. How humiliating!
At the end of the driveway, Shivvy turned away from the picturesque village of East Linton and headed toward the open countryside. The last thing she needed was people staring at her, whispering about her 'American' ways and accent. Her mother had been against her going to the New York Institute, but Shivvy's father had been adamant. Albert McRae wanted both his children trained to be the best shadowhunters they could be, and he also knew his son Ian would pay an unfair price for being Josh Cameron's parabatai, if he remained in Edinburgh. It was that argument which finally won Shivvy's mother over, and resulted in what the girl felt were the best years of her young life. If she hadn't become part of the New York Institute, she would never have gotten to know Daniel!
Shivvy followed the country lane until she came to a path that wound its way through a pretty wooded area. As she walked, her thoughts turned to Daniel LaCroix, the young vampire who'd help them defeat Magnus's evil half sister, Lucia, three years ago. His handsome, sensitive face came swirling into her mind and she smiled, a genuine expression that reached her eyes and made them sparkle. If her father had been there, he would have known, without a word, what Daniel meant to her... but her father had died, suddenly, unexpectedly, while he was out hunting demons. Ave atque vale, hail and farewell Albert McRae, and Shivvy's life had changed forever. She lost her staunchest supporter, the one person, other than Ian, she felt saw her as she truly was, at least until she'd met Daniel.
Now, surrounded by the trappings of her early childhood, and at her wits end with her mother's less than subtle attempts to marry her off to an 'appropriate' shadowhunter, she longed to be back in New York, and was more afraid than ever she would be prevented from returning.
Shivvy's mother, Corrinne McRae had informed her that evening they were expected at Eilean Donan, the ancestral home of the McKenzie's for the weekend. Oh joy, a whole weekend with the sullen, Addison and his slimy farther Gerard. She'd not forgotten the angry, possessive glance he'd given her when she returned from dinner with the High Warlock of Edinburgh, Aidan Briosag. That dinner had been the highlight of her trip to Edinburgh, those few hours at the Cauldron Pub, though she had quickly learned not to speak of it at home. Her mother considered any time spent with the notorious High Warlock a very questionable lapse in judgement on her daughter's part.
As night began to fall, and the air became cooler, a shimmering mist rose from the ground, creeping and swirling around Shivvy's feet. The path in front of her was shrouded in fog, and she was about to retrace her steps when she noticed an old, abandoned graveyard to her left. She assumed that there must have been a church nearby at some point, but it was long since gone, not even ruins left to mark its passing.
Shivvy turned toward the graveyard, she had always been intrigued by the brief stories old stones had to tell of lives long since past. They drew her in, touching her with their poignancy.
Moving past the crumbling stone wall that separated the consecrated ground of the graveyard from the lane, Shivvy began reading the stones. It was only when the fog became too dense for her to make out the words that she looked up to see strange, pitiful shapes forming out of the mist. A ragged line of women and men shuffled past her moaning in pain and despair. Bodies broken by torture, they seemed to move slowly toward a ghostly pyre that engulfed each in turn. Witches, Shivvy thought and Gellie Duncan's anguished words came back to her; "I took many others with me to the pyre, men and women both. They were innocent! Innocent! It will come again the hysteria..."
A shiver ran down Shivvy's spine as the vision faded away. Then, out of the corner of her eye, in the darkest shadows of the cemetery, Shivvy saw a solitary figure. Her family had always believed in the 'second sight'; those who could see more than the here and now. The past, ghosts, and even the future were open to them, and she counted herself among the? Blessed? Cursed? Who knew. Suddenly, the figure rose from the grave stone and began to move towards her. She pulled a seraph blade from the scabbard on her back, and whispered 'Gabriel'. The sword blazed into life, its light exposing the area around her and dispelling both the shadows and the mist. The girl knew the blade would be useless if this was another ghost or vision, but there was a sense of comfort in feeling the weight of it in her hand.
"Shivvy;" said a soft, familiar voice.
"Daniel! What are you doing here?" The girl said, dousing the blade and throwing her arms around the tall, pale boy who stood before her.
A small, gentle smile flitted across Daniel's lips as he pulled Shivvy tighter into his arms. "I missed you;" He whispered softly; "Magnus opened a portal for me, saying something about being sick and tired of seeing me moping around the Institute. I've been in the neighbourhood awhile hoping to run into you;" Daniel had no illusions about the welcome he'd receive if he had the nerve to knock on Shivvy's mother's door.
"I've missed you too;" Shivvy giggled. "If I have to hear one more word from my mother about making a good impression on the 'eligible' shadowhunters around here, I'll scream."
Daniel frowned, he didn't like to think about Shivvy being introduced to other boys, boys that would be a lot less complicated for her to date than he was. Seeing the look on his face, Shivvy pulled him down and kissed him, soft and sweet. "No one compares to you Daniel, they never could."
Daniel and Shivvy sat on an old stone bench near one of the more elaborate monuments, sheltered by the great trees that surrounded the lonely churchyard. They talked, laughed, hugged and kissed each other, just reveling in the chance to be together. Neither of them were naive enough to believe that the future for them, as a couple, would be smooth sailing. Shivvy was a shadowhunter with family traditions of strength, honour and service. She accepted that her vocation was to protect mundanes, battle demons and perhaps die young.
Daniel was a mundane who had been kidnapped, turned against his will into a vampire, and left to find his own meaning, truth and agency in an undead life that flew in the face of every belief his family had taught him; and yet, the two of them had been drawn together and found in each other all that truly mattered. Where Shivvy went, he would follow, what fate held in store for them, they would share.
Shivvy told him of her mother's plan for her to go to the McKenzie ancestral home, Eilean Donan that weekend. Daniel promised he would follow her, bide his time in the countryside and hope to meet her as often as possible. It was the best they could do.
"I wish we were back in New York;" Shivvy said snuggling into Daniel's side. "I used to hate Ian's over protective attitude, but I'd deal with that any day over this."
"Your brother loves you, and his concern does him credit." Daniel whispered softly in her ear. "I am so grateful you have someone that looks out for you. It's getting late, I will walk you back to your home."
"I wish we had more time." Shivvy said with a sigh. "But if I don't get back soon, mother will send someone to look for me, and I wouldn't want to cause you that kind of trouble. I'm so glad you're here."
The young lovers talked quietly, sharing their feelings and enjoying being together again. Daniel had his arm around Shivvy's shoulders, and time seemed to melt away. "I should walk you back before they do send out a search party';" He whispered softly.
Reluctantly, the girl nodded as a slight shiver running down her spine. For the last few moments, Shivvy had had the strongest sense of being watched by hostile eyes.