Chapter 18 The dragon's seer
Author's note; Summary: Annie goes to Jasper to visit her mother and discovers a seer; Melora and the gang make discoveries about the stalker.
Annie got off the plane at the airport, over Christmas Annie's mother, Theresa had sent her a plane pass to Jasper for her to come for a visit. Annie had thought it'd be a great idea, it was early January, but Annie had though that after the incident at the sleepover some time away from Florence would be good.
Annie pulled her suitcase along as she walked around the airport. She found Theresa waiting for her near the exit.
"Hi mom" said Annie hugging her mother.
"Annie," said Theresa. "It's so nice for you to come."
Annie could tell Theresa was pleased for her to come for a visit since it was the first time since she moved to Florence, she visited Jasper.
Annie and Theresa walked outside and got into Theresa's car and drove to Theresa's house.
"So how have things been in Oregon since I came to visit?" asked Theresa.
"Well things quieted down since my friends and I defeated the sea witch," replied Annie. "But then as you know Irene and I got sucked into the oceanic realm and we met a sidhe named Ava who wanted to take over the magic realm and destroy humans. We've defeated her though."
"What about the supernatural hunters?" asked Theresa worriedly. "Have you been seeing anymore of them lately?"
"Don't worry mom," assured Annie. "We haven't seen any for months. Apart from those ones Rachel and the others dealt with in England while Irene and I were in the oceanic realm and she destroyed them."
But Annie knew that supernatural hunters could be anyone. From a teacher to even a gardener.
"I still can't believe that Rachel and that friend of Irene's Trish Callahan became mermaids" said Theresa surprisedly.
"They fell into the moonpool during the full moon when Irene and I got sucked into the oceanic realm," reminded Annie. "Rachel has fire powers and Trish has substance powers."
"So, how's it going with that boy Parker?" asked Theresa deciding to change the subject.
"He's a very good boyfriend mom" Annie sighed happily.
Theresa went into the kitchen and prepared something to eat, Annie sat down on the couch. She thought about what Theresa had said about supernatural hunters. She wondered if the stalker was a hunter.
…
Rachel sat in the cafeteria with the other girls. She had told them about Annie going to Jasper to see her mom.
"Do you think she'll be there for a month this time?" asked Amelia.
"No," said Rachel. "She's only going to be gone a week."
"I don't blame her," said Toni. "After what happened at the sleepover."
"Stalkers," huffed Muffy. "Next thing you know, he'll be sneaking into our bedrooms while we're asleep and try to undress us."
Rachel remembered when Charlotte came home from work later, they told her about the stalker and she asked if they had seen the number on the licence plate. Rachel admitted that she and Annie hadn't noticed. For the longest time, the sightings of the stalking had stopped.
Rachel thought about how the stalker had been watching her, Annie, Irene and Trish. It was specifically them it was watching.
She got up and walked over to the drama club's table.
"Irene," said Rachel. "We need to talk."
The other kids in the drama club looked surprised, Rachel wasn't the type of person to talk to the drama club, mostly Irene. Yet she did want to talk to her a lot lately.
Irene, Trish and Kelsey got up and followed her into the hall.
"I think the stalker might be a hunter," said Rachel softly.
The three girls eyes widened in surprise.
"You think so?" whispered Irene.
"Think of it," replied Rachel. "The stalker has been stalking you, me, Annie and Trish. It's like it knows we're mermaids."
"I can't believe there'd be a hunter in Florence," said Trish.
"Well, we haven't seen him since the sleepover," said Rachel. "Maybe it's left."
"Or maybe he's laying low," Kelsey pointed out. "It knows the police are after him and that we caught him watching us, so he's keeping quiet so we keep our guard down."
Trish had to admit she hadn't seen the silver car at the school since the sleepover.
"After school, we should tell Mrs. Wellington and Melora," declared Rachel.
…
The next day in Jasper, Annie and Theresa walked downtown shopping. Theresa worked as a hairdresser and today was her day off, so they decided to hang out like they did before Annie's dad got transferred to Buchanan high.
They were walking across the street. Annie hadn't been to Jasper in a while, but she could still remember the shops and restaurants in the neighborhood. So, t caught her eye when she saw a store she hadn't seen before.
It had a Chinese theme to it. The woodwork on the outside looked like the design on a Chinese pagoda. There were Chinese words on the side and the sign read: Dragon's fortunes.
"Mom," said Annie. "What's this shop?"
Theresa looked up.
"I don't know," she said in surprise. "I've been along the street lots of times and I've never seen this shop before."
The two girls walked across the street and walked into the shop. Inside they saw figurines dressed in Chinese clothing and charms and miniature statues of dragons.
Annie and Theresa set their bags down and looked around.
"It all looks like the kind of stuff fortune tellers use" whispered Theresa.
"Welcome" said a voice behind them. It sounded like a mystic voice.
Annie and her mother turned around to see a lady standing behind them. She was a young adult with black hair in a bob and wore reddish-orange Shang dynasty robes. The two girls noticed her eyes were grey.
"I am Ty Woo," said the lady in a mystical voice. "Owner of Dragon's fortunes."
"She's blind" Annie whispered to her mother.
"I can tell your fortune's if you like," said Ty Woo. "Come to the back room."
Annie and Theresa slowly walked across the shop with Ty Woo into the back room. The room smelled of herbs and was decorated with lanterns and red Chinese ribbons. Ty Woo motioned her hand for them to sit down at a very small table low to the ground.
Ty Woo held a tea pot in her hand and poured tea into cups.
"I can tell you're from far away," said Ty Woo looking at Annie with interest.
"Yes," stammered in Annie's surprise.
"You must've had a long swim mermaid" replied Ty Woo.
Theresa choked on her tea and her eyes widened in horror.
"How did you know?" asked Annie her blue eyes widened. "I never told you."
Ty Woo raised her hands. To the shock of both girls, there was an eye on each hand! Two blue eyes starred at the girls. Theresa flinched with a disgusted look and Annie spilled her tea and it poured on her lap.
There was a whooshing sound and Annie flopped on the floor in mermaid form.
"I'm a seer," explained Ty Woo. "We have the ability to read minds and tell peoples fortunes. Seers are blind, but we can see visions and read minds from the eyes on our hands. I could sense you being a mermaid when you walked in."
Theresa now looking interested in the seer listened as she used a cloth to help Annie dry off.
"I can sense you're a very special mermaid," said Ty Woo interestedly. "You're no ordinary mermaid."
"I was born a human" Annie admitted to the seer.
"I can tell," she replied. "But I can sense great dangers. If you're not careful, you will be killed."
Annie and Theresa looked at each other.
"What do you mean?" asked Annie.
"It'll happen," declared Ty Woo. "Can't say when. The dragon flames have showed me visions of dark clouds."
"Dragon flames?" said Theresa dumbfounded.
"I've been seeing mermaids, demons, witches and sidhes mom," said Annie. "So, it's no surprise that dragons are real too."
"I'm a servant to the dragon," declared Ty Woo. "My family comes from a long line of seers. We work for the dragons of China."
Just then they heard the sound of the door opening.
"I've got more costumers," said Ty Woo. "You might want to leave."
Annie and Theresa looked at each other and picked up their bags and walked out of the room. They walked through the store to see two men and a lady browsing around the store as they left.
That night at Theresa's house, Annie called Mrs. Wellington and Dawn and told them about the seer.
"She said she was a seer and that she worked for a dragon," explained Annie. "What did she mean by that?"
"Seers are like fortune tellers," explained Mrs. Wellington. "The great dragons granted them their powers centuries ago and became seers to the dragons."
"The seer told me that she could see a dark cloud in my fortune," said Annie thoughtfully. "That if I wasn't careful, I would be killed. What do you think that means?"
"I don't know," replied Mrs. Wellington worriedly. "It might be with supernatural hunters or supernatural beings. But you'd better be careful, Rachel and the others mentioned to us today that the stalker you've been dealing with might be a hunter."
Annie's blue eyes widened, it was pretty obvious, it was her, Rachel, Irene and Trish it had been watching.
"We haven't seen it since the sleepover," assured Annie. "It's probably keeping scarce since it knows we caught him."
"That's what the others told me," admitted Mrs. Wellington. "Melora and I haven't seen any stalker."
"It probably doesn't know about you," suggested Annie. "But I'm in Jasper now, so I'm sure I feel safe."
She said goodbye to Mrs. Wellington and hung up and put the phone back on the receiver.
"What do you think about what that seer said?" asked Melora.
"I don't know," said Mrs. Wellington. "But we could all be in great danger."
…
The next day Theresa headed off to work leaving Annie in the house alone. Annie made some pancakes for breakfast.
After she ate, she decided to go for a walk and check out Dragon's fortunes again to see if it was still there. When she got to the store, she saw it was still there.
Annie stepped aside to let two girls who were leaving the shop past. They each carried a small shopping bag. She walked inside, there were a few costumers inside, browsing and picking out trinkets and figurines.
She then saw Ty Woo walking out of her office with a young man. The man paid Ty Woo a ten-dollar bill and left the shop.
Annie didn't have to speak for Ty Woo to recognize she was back.
"Welcome back mermaid," she said in her mystical voice. "What would you like to know?"
"I wanted to see if you could tell me anymore of what you saw in the visions," said Annie softly.
"Come in," said Ty Woo.
Annie followed the seer into the back room.
"What was that man you were talking to wanting?" asked Annie.
"I told him his fortune," explained Ty Woo. "Don't worry," she added amusedly, seemingly reading the shocked look on Annie's face. "I told him to close his eyes when I held out my hands. I told him his first child would be a girl."
Annie's eyes widened in surprise.
Ty Woo held her hands in front of Annie again and closed her eyes in concentration.
"I can see this boy," declared Ty Woo. "With light brown hair."
"Parker?" asked Annie. "My boyfriend?"
"I can see danger," continued Ty Woo. "The boy is with these two people and he looks like he's in trouble."
Annie sat back in shock.
"Do you think they're hunters?" asked Annie.
Ty Woo didn't answer.
That must be what the danger I'm in is, thought Annie. Hunters are going to capture Parker and me.
"That's what I saw in the flames," said Ty Woo. "If you're not careful you and your boyfriend and all the other mermaids will be in great danger."
Annie horrified, quickly got up and ran out the door to the store. She then saw across the street was a figure dressed in black.
"It's the stalker!" Annie cried out. "It'll follow me anywhere."
The stalker walked across the street; Annie dashed back into the shop. Ty Woo was surprised to see her come back so soon.
"There's a stalker after me," cried Annie. "It followed me here!"
The door swung open and the stalker walked in. It held out a gun and pointed it at Annie.
Annie pushed her hand forward. The stalker flew back. Annie then lifted up a dragon sculpture and threw it at the stalker. The sculpture hit the stalker on the head shattering it and the stalker collapsed to the ground.
"Go," said Ty Woo. "Run."
Annie quickly headed through the back of the building.
The stalker grabbed Ty Woo by the neck and started to strangle her. Weakly, Ty Woo collapsed to the ground and tried to fight back. She pulled the mask aside revealing Yuria.
Ty Woo painfully held her hand out to Yuria.
"The dragon flames have shown me your fortune," declared Ty Woo. "If you and your friend continue down this path, that mermaid will be your undoing."
Yuria stood surprised for a minute, then shot Ty Woo in the chest with her gun. Taking a final gasp, the seer dropped dead.
…
Back in Florence, Alex and Vivian drove their Chevy into Mrs. Wellington's driveway. Mrs. Wellington had invited them over for dinner.
They knocked on the door and Melora answered.
"Hey Alex, Vivian," said Melora cheerfully. "Come in, Dawn and Haru have almost got dinner set."
Melora led them through into the kitchen where Mrs. Wellington and Haru were working.
"What are you making?" asked Vivian checking the stove.
"Fish cake stew," explained Haru. "It's a seafood dish where I'm from. And there's also hotate they're Japanese scallops."
"They look delicious," said Vivian.
Melora grabbed a pitcher of cherry juice from the fridge and started pouring the juice into cups.
Just then there was a knock on the door.
Alex got up to answer it.
"Hey George," he said. "What are doing here."
Mrs. Wellington turned to see Alex talking with George.
"I was out for a walk and I saw your car," explained George. "So, I thought I'd check it out."
"We're having dinner with our daughter's vice principal," explained Alex. Mrs. Wellington and Melora walked up. "This is Dawn Wellington and her sister Melora."
When Melora looked at the man she gave a look of discomfort.
"We've met before" answered George dryly, looking at Melora.
"Would you like to come in and join us?" asked George.
"No thanks," said George politely. "I have to run."
And with that George turned and walked on.
Mrs. Wellington noticed the uncomfortable look on her sister's face.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I," stammered Melora. "I feel like that man looks familiar."
…
Portland Oregon, 1996
George Clemons got of a fishing boat after working the night shift.
"I'm telling you George," said one of his co-workers. "You'll never find this mermaid."
"What happened with your father was an unfortunate accident," added another. "You were only a kid, and imagined a mermaid. Mermaids don't exist."
"I saw a mermaid," said George. "And I'm going to find it."
The two other fisherman sighed and walked away.
George was just leaving, when he suddenly bumped into a lady. She had black hair and wore a red Asian scarf.
"Oh sorry" exclaimed George.
"It's okay," said the lady smiling. "I couldn't help overhearing you talking about mermaids."
George looked surprised.
"What if I told you I know some people who can help you?" said the lady.
"Okay" said George sounding interested.
"I'm Yuria" said the girl.
"I'm George" replied George.
Yuria drove George outside the city to what looked like a copper mine.
"This is head office to the supernatural hunters," explained Yuria. "We hunt down magic beings and kill them to rid the world of magic."
They drove up to the gates where two officers were. Yuria held out a card and the guards opened the gates.
After parking the car, Yuria led George into an office where twelve people where inside talking.
"Council," said Yuria. "I found a potential member. This is George Clemons. George this is the council of twelve, the council of the supernatural hunters."
One of the men stepped up from his chair.
"I am Troy," said the man. "Why do you want to join the council."
"When I was a boy," explained George. "I saw my father being killed by a mermaid. Nobody believed me, I've been wanting to find that mermaid ever since."
"I'm sorry about your father George," said Troy. "I can assure you we will help you destroy that mermaid. And with you're help we can destroy all the mermaids."
"I'd like that" declared George with interest.
"Well then," declared Troy. "Welcome aboard George Clemons."
Author's note; I based this chapter off the episode of Once upon a time Selfless, brave and true.