I stare in utter disbelief at my blood—which is now somehow glass—sitting in this mans hand like it was something normal. I glance up at Porters face, which is stricken with more emotion than I can even register myself. Buck…I don’t know about him. I have bigger things to worry about than what he’s feeling right now. 

“What the hell is going on?” I demand. “What does that even mean? How did you do that?” I can’t seem to gather the thoughts spinning around in my head. 

Confusion spreads across his eyes. “What I want to know is what you’ve been doing for the past four hundred plus years if you have absolutely no idea who you are, or are you just pretending not to know? If you are you are a bloody good actress.” 

I can’t even believe what I’m hearing. “Four hundred years?? Porter, I was born in 2002. I’m only twenty years old! My parents found me wandering around the forest in 2006 when I was, like, four years old! I’m not over four centuries old!” 

There wasn’t a single word out of any of us for the next five minutes while Porter stares into some oblivion doing what I believe is searching for an answer for whatever mess this is. No way this man could be my father. No way I’m over four-hundred years old. I would have been born in the the seventeenth century!

A lightbulb goes off. “The Dryad.” He states.

“The Dryad?” Buck repeats.

“Ahriella and I sent Aila through a big oak Dryad. It promised it would send her to a place where our enemies wouldn’t be able to find her until she’s old enough to protect herself.” He buries his face in his hands. 

“Aila? Your daughter? Who in the world is Ahriella?” Buck questions.

Porter locks eyes with me. “Yes, though it seems she goes by a different name now. I thought the Dryad would send her to a different country—in Europe somewhere—so the people here couldn’t find her, but it seems the spirits had something different in mind.”

I lean in a bit closer. “And what is that?”

“No wonder I couldn’t find you. I’ve searched every corner of this earth and couldn’t find a single hair, and it explains why you have no idea who you are, and why you don’t know about the war.” He leaves us in suspense as he gains the courage to say the next line, “The Dryad sent you into the future.” His confusion turns into anger and frustration. “I should burn that damned tree down! With all it’s stupid metaphors and vague promises. It can damn me to Hel see if I care! It sent me around in circles for centuries!”

Buck slides awkwardly out of the booth. “I, uh, think I should give you two some space. I’ll be out in front of the diner when you’re finished.” He leaves. 

*****

It became cloudy while we sat in the diner. Rain began to trickle down the large glass windows as I watched the clocks hit the next hour. Thirty minutes into the deafening silence between Porter and I. After his rant about the Oak Dryad or whatever he went stone cold silent. Fifteen minutes in I thought maybe the stress of it all knocked him out, but when he began sighing and looking out the window like a distraught emo kid I stood corrected. Unfortunately. Buck peaks in at us from out front every five or ten minutes wondering why the hell Porter is acting like a natural freak. That makes two of us. 

Another five minutes pass before Porter says anything. “You’re not saying anything.”

How many times can I be genuinely stunned today. “Well I’m waiting for you to explain what the hell is going on. I hope you can understand why I find all of these very sudden revelations extremely unbelievable. First: I’m your daughter and you expect me to believe that because you voodooed my blood into glass, second: you’ve been searching for me for four centuries, third: my name was Aila?, and fourth: an Oak Dryad vaguely told you it was sending me somewhere safe and ended up teleporting me some four hundred years into the future?”

“It’s not Voodoo. It’s witch magick. They’re two different things.” He moans. 

“That’s not the point here!” I exclaim. “My life has just been turned upside down in less than twelve hours! Some guy stabbed a hunting knife through my chest last night and I was healed by morning! Some Korean goblin rescued me and brought me to a house full of vampires and some mystery sister, and my club coordinator, who is actually somehow my long lost biological dad—who is a fairy might I add—sent me into the future through a fucking tree?! I didn’t even tell my parents I was coming here because they would think I’m in some post traumatic shock or something! And I don’t think they’re wrong!”

He takes a break and taps his pointer finger on the table as he thinks. “I realize this may seem rather sudden—

“Because it is!” I interrupt.

“I realize this may seem sudden,” he continues, “but I really need you to compose yourself for a moment. I have been waiting for this moment for hundreds of years, and it’s definitely not like how I imagined it, and I don’t think we can take the time to start it over. We need to get you somewhere safe.” 

“Yeah. Ok. After this I’m going home.” I state.

He shakes his head. “Your magick hasn’t emerged yet, so you can’t protect yourself from this man. If he’s from the time you were born he’s not going to stop until he kills you and every creature he can find through you. You need to hide where they can’t find you. I need you to stay away from here at least until I can figure out how what’s wrong with your powers.”

“Like hell I’m hiding.” I scoff. “What do I do about my parents? I just told them some crazed murderer tried to kill me and you think they’re going to want me going off with a random guy I met the other day and my school’s club coordinator? Not a chance.” 

He becomes awkward at the mention of my parents. “Right. I can take care of that. Get up. We have to go.”