NIVIAN
NIVIAN SLID HER arm from Holter’s as they appeared at the end of a long gravel driveway. She pressed a hand to her head, warding off the slight dizzy spell from the exertion of transporting him. While not as powerful as Kain, his pure Hunter’s blood ran opposite of her own, creating a drag on her power.
Holter moved to walk toward the large home.
“Can I ask why?” Nivian blurted. She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, she hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
He turned to her with eyebrows raised and waited for her to speak her question.
“Why you insist on it being you?”
Holter smiled, but a sadness coated it, stealing the brightness the look should have held. “I haven’t been around for most of his life, he isn’t too attached.”
Nivian tilted her head. There was something else he wasn’t saying.
He glanced back at the house, then said, “I will only be a minute, we can talk about this after I’ve said goodbye to Auri.”
And with that, he walked up the steps to the front porch and knocked on the door.
Nivian transported to inside the house, landing at the top of the stairs. She crouched down on the first step and wrapped her arms around her knees.
A beautiful woman walked into view, her hair pulled up into a slightly messy ponytail. Everything about her brightened as she opened the door.
“Holter! Why are you knocking?” She laughed at him and threw her arms around his neck before giving him a deep kiss. “I didn’t hear you drive up.”
Nivian averted her gaze and looked at the long row of photos lining the wall. Each one of them were of Kain. Some with his mother, and some without. But in every single one, he had the biggest, brightest smile showing off the singular dimple in his cheek.
Part of her wanted to find his old room and see what things he liked when he was younger. But she stayed put. There would be future days for such things. Days when she would try to help him remember who he was.
An old, black dog barreled through the house and skidded on the hardwood floor before colliding with Holter’s legs. Nivian covered her mouth, suppressing a giggle. He bent down and scratched behind its ears.
“Nice to see you too, Bear,” he said, then placed a kiss on its head.
When Holter rose to full height, he took Aurelia by the hand and led her into the other room. She could see some of each of them in Kain.
Nivian walked down the stairs, careful not to make any noise, and sat on the bottom step. Bear curled up on the floor at her feet. Absentmindedly, she reached down to pet his head; he was so soft, she wouldn’t have minded snuggling up next to him. She would think about getting one someday.
Holter’s voice carried from the other room. He sounded happy. Happier than she knew was in his heart.
“I have to leave on a last minute trip tonight for the office,” he said.
“Oh no, when will you be back?”
“A week, two at the most,” he lied.
There was an audible thickness to his words. Sorrow.
Aurelia asked him when he had to leave and the disappointment she felt at hearing the answer was tangible.
Nivian bit her lip and stood, placing her hood over her head. This wasn’t her conversation to listen to. She wasn’t entirely sure what had possessed her to go inside in the first place.
“Have a good trip. I will see you when you get back, maybe we can go on that second honeymoon?”
Nivian transported out to the yard behind one of the many trees lining the driveway. She drew a shaking breath and brushed away a tear she didn’t realize had fallen. Lifting her face, she let the cool evening breeze dry her tears.
“There you are,” Holter said quietly. “What’s wrong?”
She let her head list to the side as she took him in. His eyes were rimmed with red, the only outward sign that he was hurting.
“I’m so sorry; I listened in,” she admitted as they walked out of sight of the house.
“I know. It’s okay.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Where do you want to go?” she asked. She sensed he would want it to be private and thought now would be the perfect time for him to go anywhere he wanted without anything holding him back. She wouldn’t mind the drain on her power. It would be worth it.
“I would love to watch the sun set over the ocean.”
Nivian quirked a brow at the simple, yet unexpected, request. She hadn’t known what he would want, but somehow it seemed to fit him perfectly. She wrapped her arm around his back and transported them to a deserted beach facing the western horizon.
They still had some time before the sun would fully set so they walked along the beach for an hour, letting their toes sink into the damp sand and feeling the waves of cool water splash over their feet.
Light glinted off something green poking out of the muddy sand. Nivian bent down to pick it up. A small piece of glass, smoothed by time and water. She handed it to Holter as he led her to a sun warmed dune and took a seat, patting the ground next to him.
Taking the offering, Holter examined it and chuckled to himself. “Aurelia told me that when Kain was young, he would always pick up small rocks and things like this whenever they went anywhere and give them to her. She still has them all in a box.”
Nivian laughed, trying to picture a young Kain rock hunting.
The sun inched closer to the horizon, changing the brilliant blue of the sky to a deep orange with rich pink and purple clouds. As anxious as she was to get back to Kain, she longed for time to slow, just a little, and prolong what would come all too soon.
After a while, Holter put his arm around her in the same fatherly way as before. He felt like a friend, he felt like family. Nivian leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He had such a comforting presence, and she knew that was a quality Kain had inherited from him.
“Take care of him for me,” Holter said. His voice was thick and raspy. But she didn’t look at him, fearing she would cry and make it harder for both of them.
“I will,” she whispered, and meant it. She didn’t tell anyone about Kain’s missing memories, still holding on to the chance he might get them back once he returned to this realm. And in Holter’s case, there was no reason to tell him about it. He would only worry.
She didn’t know if she had a father or a family in her past life, but if she did, she hoped he was a Holter.
The bottom of the sun touched the horizon, creating an illusion that it was sinking into the ocean and putting itself to bed. The brilliant colors intensified. When had she last taken the time to appreciate the beauty of the setting sun?
“I don’t know if I can take your life for Kain’s, it feels wrong. I want him back, more than anything, but…”
Holter’s hand came up from her shoulder and he stroked her hair.
“I would have died during the transfer of powers. It never would have worked with me, let alone any of the others. I am not as strong as I’d hoped. But you finding a way to bring Kain back was the miracle I didn’t know to ask for.” He gestured to the world around them then brought his finger to her nose, poking her gently. “At least now, I can die knowing all of this will be saved.”
Nivian pulled back to look at him and sniffled. He would have given his life for something he knew would never have worked just on the off chance that fate was on their side. He’d spent so many months expecting his death, and he might have prepared mentally for this moment, but she hadn’t and now there was no time for her to.
Nivian reached up and rubbed the tingling spot on her nose, denying even to herself that he was breaking her heart. Kain may not have known him well, but there was so much of Holter in him, and in that way, he would live on, but that did nothing to ease the ache in her chest.
“Now, now,” he said, pulling her into him. “You don’t need to cry for me. I have lived a long and wonderful life.”
She hugged him and hated every tear that fell from her eyes as she buried her face in his shoulder. All the while, Holter continued to stroke her hair. Even if he didn’t think he deserved the tears, he let her have them, understanding she needed them.
Eventually, she was able to calm her breathing enough to stop crying.
She glared at the sun, angry at it for not moving slower. The purple and inky black sky swallowed the other colors as the last flicker of light dropped below the horizon, allowing the stars to twinkle.
“I am sorry this is how it ends. I—”
Holter kissed her forehead then helped her to stand. “I am glad my son found someone who would do anything for him.” His hands slid down her arms and gripped hers. “Do me a favor, if you can?”
“Anything,” she promised.
“If you can, please take Auri’s memories of me. I can’t stand the thought of hurting her because I had to leave again. She deserves better than that.”
Nivian’s eyes burned anew and she nodded.
“It is time, Nivian.”
She half laughed through the tears choking her. “Isn’t that my line?”
Holter chuckled. “I suppose it is.” When she hesitated, he added, “It’s okay; I am ready now.”
Nivian pulled the parchment mark from her pocket and crumpled it in her hands. She willed her power to flow through the paper and when she opened them again, a black watch with the crescent moon and howling wolf embossed atop the lid sat ticking in her palm.
She depressed the crown and opened it.
Pulling her scythe from her back pocket, she held it out in front of her, letting it expand to its full size.
She looked into Holter’s warm, brown eyes for a moment, holding the two objects. For the first time, Nivian would take a mark to the best of her ability and not walk away with a sense of pride in a job well done.
She felt worse than the image of the Grim Reaper that humans held, with it’s rotting body, exposed bones, and maggots crawling through its flesh. She felt like a traitor. But she forced herself to continue.
Nivian lowered the hand that held the watch and left it hovering in the air, bobbing gently on the wind. She waved toward Holter with her now free hand.
He closed his eyes and let his head fall back as his feet lifted from the ground. A golden light emanated from his body, turning silver as if it became stardust. And slowly, a gleaming thread emerged from his chest and floated toward her.
Nivian dropped her hand and took a steadying breath.
Lifting her scythe high into the air, she let the blade drop, severing his life thread. The light faded from his eyes as the silver string dropped into the watch and she closed it with a soft click.