~FIFTEEN~

 

Prime’s chuckling filled the den. “Folks are gonna start mistaking us, man.”

Caspian appeared to cringe. “Sorry,” he looked up from the mess of parchments, books and journals littering a high round table near the furthermost bookshelf.

“Ah man, nah…” Prime waved a hand. “It’s good to see someone besides me finally interested in all this,” he perched on the back of a nearby sofa. “You lookin’ for anything special?”

Something dark filtered Caspian’s fair features. “I don’t know what I’m looking for- something to do with our father. Dammit, why does that part of Step’s and Greg’s story grab me so?”

Shrugging, Prime settled more comfortably against the plaid sofa arm. “Nothin’ strange about it, Casp. Most men obsess over knowing their fathers if the man isn’t around.”

“Screw that, Prime,” Caspian shoved at the material on the table. “I’m not trying to track down the jerk to ask him why he didn’t stick around to teach us how to play football.”

“Do you think he’s still around?” Prime asked.

Caspian hid his face in his hands and inhaled. “I don’t know… but what I’ve been sensing… it’s getting stronger- the last time I had a vision, the image I saw was my own.”

“So… you think-”

“I don’t know what I think, but I think the answer’s in whoever our father was.”

Prime was quiet for a long while, stroking his jaw in a slow, deliberate manner. “Great,” he muttered eventually.

Caspian reared back in his chair. “What?”

“Since you’re already down, this probably won’t make a difference. Over a month has passed since the last time we got into this. After we talked, I hoped we could take a trip and see about locating anyone that could give us the answers we need.”

“And?”

Prime puffed out his cheeks and slanted a dubious look toward the table. “I’ve been looking into exactly where we’d take this trip. Either the village doesn’t exist anymore, it never existed or it exists in some parallel universe.”

“Step and Greg have been there,” Caspian reminded his brother.

Prime shook his head. “Not since they left with us.”

“You think they still remember the way?”

“Maybe.”

Caspian smiled. “I’m guessing you’ve got a plan B in case they don’t?”

Silence settled between the brothers then.

***

 

He left the house running before anything… took effect. Now, settled in the deep woods behind the lodge and its festivities, he could think.

What the hell? He could think! Never in all the infinite number of times that he’d… changed had he ever been able to think and if he had, he’d never been able to remember any of it. Since she’d come into his life, he had been able to remember every bit of it.

Sadly, the fact didn’t fill him with elation. No matter how ‘just right’ for him she was- how excellent she felt against him- he couldn’t ask her to accept this.

Part of him knew she would though. He believed Lilia would accept the monster and the man. And when the monster overcame the man? What then?

He noticed the tendons in his hands, now distorted gnarled limbs with the curving claws that could shred anything from bone to metal. No… he wouldn’t ask her to accept this. How could he, when he hadn’t been able to accept it in all the years of his very long life.

***

 

Caspian absently smoothed a hand across his scar.

Wake her!

She’s having a nightmare. Probably not the best idea. He was caught between suspicion over why the girl was there and curiosity over who she was and what had her in such a restless state.

He’d picked up on the distressed sounds not long after he’d taken one of the back trails that wound through the wooded acreage behind the lodge. He’d been walking for about ten minutes, thinking about the newest stretch of drama in the unending drama-fest that defined his family’s life. He was giving up, deciding that it was futile to try making sense of so much- it was too much… Then, he’d noticed the weird flickering through the trees. Another few minutes went by before he realized that the flickering was coming from a tent.

“What the hell…?” His steps slowed cautiously but never halted. Caspian moved until he was kneeling before the flaps of the structure. Peeling back one side, he found himself stunned still.

The phrase ‘legs that didn’t quit’ came to mind while his bright eyes roamed the limbs encased behind denims that accentuated a slender yet curvy frame. Caspian was tilting his head to get a look at her face, when he sensed her agitation.

Get over yourself Casp, he said, feeling like a pervert for savoring her looks while she lay there in agony. He rubbed one hand along her calf and ordered himself to take no pleasure from it.

“Hey?” He called to her, keeping his voice soft, coaxing. “It’s alright…wake up…”

Simone Garwin’s dark tilted eyes opened with a single flutter of lashes in response to the faint command that filled her ears and summoned her to awaken. Wait- command? She was never…commanded to reach for a reprieve. She was only compelled- compelled to see things she could only escape when she was awake.

Caspian jerked away from the tent opening when the girl bolted up. Her hands lay flat on the pallet beneath her and she appeared to be taking inventory of her surroundings. Caspian knew he should go. The last thing the girl needed was to look around, see him (and his scar) and think she was still gripped inside her nightmare. He didn’t move. Don’t fear me, he said.

I don’t.

Caspian had been kneeling just outside the tent. The silent response to his plea sent him tumbling back until he landed on his ass in the dirt.

Simone turned, dark eyes filling with wonder when she glimpsed the boy who spoke to her inside her mind. “Why would I fear you?”

Slowly, Caspian moved back inside the tent. He allowed the flickering light from the battery powered lamp to wash over his features.

Simone perched on her knees, facing him. “Are people usually afraid of you?” she asked.

“Pretty usually. Why are you out here?”

Whatever lightness pooled the darkness of her stare was quickly doused. She began to take a closer account of her surroundings. “I’m not the best sleeper- didn’t want my friends to kick me out of our room at the lodge.”

“You’re here for the class trip.”

“Yeah… you? I don’t recognize-”

“No, I um-” he grinned over being mistaken for a high school student. “I’m Caspian Akintunde. My family-”

“Owns the place,” Simone nodded, the lightness returning to her gaze. “I heard.”

It was Caspian’s stare that wavered then. “Why doesn’t my scar bother you?”

“Should it?”

“It bothers most.”

“The scar’s got nothing on the face it’s attached to,” Simone blinked, her eyes going wide over what she had just said. “I-” she swallowed, not quite sure of what she’d say next. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

“Was it a compliment?”

“Oh yeah…”

“Then thanks.”

Simone could only shake her head. Where had he come from?

Again, he seemed to hear her. “You were having a nightmare- not your first?”

“Hmph, not my first,” Wonder prowled her gaze then, “but the first I’ve ever been awakened from.”

“You’ve never cried out in your sleep before? Someone must have noticed.”

Perhaps- but that would require someone to be paying attention. Simone mentally shook off the observation. “As you can see, I go to great lengths not to disturb anyone else’s sleep.” She intended to join Caspian when he laughed, but she was too captivated by the features he possessed. The guy was a dream- one she’d never want to awaken from.

Caspian’s expression was skeptical as it scanned the environment. “I can’t let you stay out here all night. How about we find a room where you don’t have to worry about how you sleep?”

“That’d be great- if it won’t be too much trouble,” she bit her lip and debated.

Caspian was already standing. “Hospitality is our specialty,” he offered her his hand and took great care not to show response when her fingertips touched his palm.

***

 

The low thudding of the phone as it vibrated on the weathered oak nightstand, finally became too much for Lilia to ignore. She’d decided to check notifications, with a clear head, the next day. A clear head, she mused.

She grabbed the mobile just as the vibrating stopped and pressed the device to her forehead. Quietly, she ordered away the memories of she and Fystian there on the very bed where she rested.

If he hadn’t been smart enough to end it, she wouldn’t have. Something told her this all went beyond being attracted to a boy. Lilia knew herself well enough to know she wasn’t herself when she was with him. There was something else at work between them when they were together. Lilia wondered if he sensed that too.

The phone bumped her forehead when the vibrating resumed. Grateful then for the intrusion on her thoughts, she checked the faceplate and bolted up on the bed when she saw her mother’s name.

***

 

“Will you tell me what I want to know now?” Suri snuggled into Bakri beneath the covers of his tangled and decadently spacious bed.

“Is that why you slept with me?” Bakri lowered his head, curtaining Suri’s face with his dreads when he kissed her nose.

She smiled. “Men are always more agreeable after sex, you know?”

Instead of a response, Bakri suddenly pinned Suraiya more securely beneath him. “I’m not amused,” he told her.

Suri felt the growl stirring inside his sleek chest. “It’s why I came here in the first place, remember? I didn’t expect a trip to your bed.”

“Complaints?”

“None.”

“Hell Suraiya,” he dragged a hand through his locks, “you’ve lived one hundred and ninety years without knowing this. Why the rush now?”

Suri braced against the slab of muscle that was Bakri’s chest and he let her position herself on top of him. She glared down into his very handsome face, her expression a mix of disbelief and amazement. “How? How do you know my age?”

“Because it’s my age.”

Suri seemed to wilt. “You… immortal?”

Bakri’s stern expression softened when a grin broke free. “I prefer the term long-lifer. We do die, after all and I rather not go around thinking we’re eternally indestructible.”

“But how…” Suri was breathless. “I mean, I- I thought we-”

“Were the only ones?” He grunted a laugh and shook his head on the pillow. Gradually, he sobered. “It was important for you guys to think that so you wouldn’t go looking for answers before it was time for you to find them.”

She stiffened. “The prophecy.”

“My people have known it for years.”

“Your people?”

“The Alabo.”

“Alabo…” Suri averted her gaze, tracing the stitching along a pillow case. “Protectors. Are you saying you’re here to…” she didn’t know what to ask next.

“I was sent here to watch you all and to ensure that no one else was watching,” his gaze followed the line his index finger traced from her clavicle to the swell of one breast. “I admit you’re the only one I’ve really been watching, but in my defense, who could blame me?”

Another kiss initiated, grew sultry in a second’s passing. Yet, Suri resisted before Bakri could turn the tables and drag her beneath him again.

“The prophecy?” She reminded him.

 

“Mmm…” the gesture was a groan and Bach shut his eyes while considering his lover’s request. “This conversation is too big for just you and me. The rest of your family needs to hear it.”

Suri nodded eagerly even as a sly playful element shimmered in her voluminous stare. “Agreed, but is this also your way of changing the subject?”

“No,” his smile was just as sly. “But that’s not a bad idea…”

***

 

“Mama?” Lilia called, her eyes wide with concern and fear as she stepped into the living room. She paused, needing to breathe as she suddenly felt overwhelmed by the events of the day. That morning, she was arriving for what promised to be an exciting trip- one that she had been instrumental in planning. That night, she was too terrified to enter her own home.

“Ma?” She forced volume into her voice. The utter darkness of the place did nothing to instill a sense of reassurance either. Her mother usually had the lamps burning before sunset.

“Lil?”

Alert, Lilia saw her mother at the end of the hallway leading to the kitchen. “Ma-”

“He’s here.”

Clarification settled instantly for Lilia. “How did he find us?” She rested a shaky hand against a wall, the other she brought to her forehead.

“It was him at the café,” Jill appeared to waver as she moved down the hall. “I saw him again today at the store.”

Lilia glanced around, scanning her surroundings. “You left him at the store? Maybe that’ll give us time to- to decide what to do. He would be here if he knew where we live-”

“Lilia sweetie,” Jill closed some of the distance between them. “I left the groceries at the store. An hour later they were delivered to the house. That’s when I called you.” Jill shook her head, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. It was stupid to have you come back here-”

“We have to go?” Lilia’s query held a lost tone as her panic resumed.

Jill looked sympathetic, her eyes tear-filled as well. “I know, sweetie… I love it here too.”

Lilia rested her head back on the wall, willing her own tears to remain hidden.

“The important things are already packed,” Jillian made her rounds about the living room, checking for items she may have overlooked. “If we leave now, we can cover a lot of distance before morning.”

Lilia nodded without really hearing her mother. Her thoughts were on Fystian. She allowed them to dwell there, but not for long. Now was not the time- there would never be time.

Dazedly, Lilia strolled the house she had fallen in love with. She and her mom had been on the way to making such a great life there and that had nothing to do with the dark, attractive Akintunde she’d met. It was the first place that had felt like home in all the places they’d run to in their attempts to escape Victor Rwomire.

She headed through the kitchen in route to the back door. Her intention was to take one last breath of air from the porch where she’d enjoyed spending quiet evenings like the one that night.

Bad idea.

“Abby love,” Victor Rwomire shared his cool greeting as though he was every bit the adoring father. His very handsome features did nothing to mask the deceit that lay behind them.

Lilia opened her mouth, not knowing whether she would speak or cry out. Victor gave her the chance to do neither. He pressed his hand over her mouth while backing her up through the moonlit kitchen.

“She tried to take you away from me,” he whispered, his voice tinged with faint desperation. “The fool!” he hissed, “She has no idea who you are. You’re the path. You’re the path I must-”

“Victor! That’s enough!”

Lilia heard her mother’s voice behind her, but almost didn’t recognize the strength it held.

Victor whirled Lilia around, locking her back against his chest. Lilia saw that her mother carried a gun.

“Fool!” Victor spat. “Do you mean to kill your own child? Or maybe you mean to kill me and you have to know by now that’s a useless endeavor.”

“You’re a monster in every sense of the word,” Jill held the gun level with one hand, her gaze fixed over Lilia’s head and into her ex-husband’s dead eyes. She cocked the gun. “I’d rather see my daughter dead than under your influence.”

“Your daughter,” the man sneered, “you have no idea who she is. Who she’s meant to be! She’s the key to them. She-”

Lilia interrupted the man’s monologue with the elbow she shoved into his ribs. She followed the move by stabbing his foot with the square heel of a low cut boot. She bolted while he was doubled over.

“Idiot girl!” Victor’s reflexes were like lightning. He moved to catch her, but reconsidered the plan when Jill sent a shot from the gun that whizzed past his ear. He blinked, looking toward his ex-wife as if seeing her for the first time.

Jillian smiled, enjoying his stunned expression. “That was a warning in case you were wondering whether I missed just now. I may not kill you with this,” she flexed her fingers around the butt of the gun, “but it’ll damn well take time to recover from what a few bullets in the right locations will do. Lilia,” she extended her free hand and tugged the girl behind her when she was near.

Together, the women followed Victor as he retreated through the rear door. Lilia hugged her mother’s neck, giving into tears the moment Victor Rwomire had vanished into the night. Jill patted her daughter’s arm yet kept her eyes upon the heavy brush of the backyard where Victor had gone.

“Go upstairs and unpack.”

Lilia’s hold on her mother’s neck weakened. “Un-unpack? Mom-”

“No more running. Ever.”

“Mama?” Lilia sniffed. “You mean it?”

Jill nodded, turned and fixed her daughter with a look of triumph- a look of defiance. “Until tonight, I had no idea I was strong enough to face off with that son of a bitch.” She straightened, adding a few inches to her height.

“I was strong enough to run, but sometimes running is just the beginning.”

“Mama?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Where’d you learn to shoot like that?”

Laughter rose between mother and daughter. It was laughter fueled by more than the question. It was a release of the frustrations and fears which had haunted them for so long.

Lilia gasped, feeling her mother’s hold tighten painfully at her waist. “Ma-” she silenced, seeing what had stoked the woman’s reaction. In disbelief, she studied what stood before them on the other side of the door.

Male- perhaps- but it was no man. It was a monster in every sense of the word. Still, in spite of its grotesque appearance, gargantuan height and the low snarl rolling up from its intestines, both women knew it was Victor Rwomire.

“Go!” Jill shoved Lilia behind her again. “Lil, run!” She aimed and fired the gun, sending a bullet into the beast’s chest.

Lilia obeyed her mother, but couldn’t resist looking back to watch Jillian square off with death. She ran a ways down the short corridor but whirled around again in time to see her mother falling to the kitchen floor.

“Mom!” She charged back into the kitchen, unmindful of what else she returned to. She dropped next to her mother, but couldn’t reach her.

Victor caught Lilia, his gnarled hands curved around her throat and he took her with him out of the kitchen. Lilia fought in earnest, her elbow pummeling the wound the gun had inflicted. Her boot heel clipped his shin and he dropped his hold. Lilia fell to the ground, but felt emboldened by the surge of power over the courage she’d witnessed within her mother. She rammed her fist into the bullet wound in Victor’s chest and wasn’t afraid when he howled. She was elated.

Lilia’s elation was short lived, lasting only until Victor Rwomire’s anger seemed to overpower his pain. His deformed features appeared even more gruesome and Lilia was sure he meant to strike her.

He didn’t have the chance.

A growl that rivaled Victor’s for horrifying appeal entered the mix. Victor had barely turned his massive head when he was knocked from Lilia and flung clear across the yard.

Lilia scrambled to her knees, eyes wide as she watched a second creature join the fight. She thanked God that this one appeared to be on her side. She could only watch- open mouthed as they battled. Jillian’s moaning as she came to, drew Lilia’s attention moments later.

Fystian intended to kill the thing even as his better judgement urged him to wait- to take stock of what was happening- what he was fighting. Another monster like him. No, no not like him. This thing was trying to kill the one he loved.

Anger raged anew. The thing like him- beneath him- was beaten. It was coughing up blood as more still oozed from the wound in its chest. Pull back, pull back. Ease off, he told himself.

The thing, still coughing and wheezing was looking up at him. Incredibly, Fystian could’ve sworn that there was something lurking in its gaze, something that looked like recognition. Then, as if things couldn’t get any more weird, its frame began to change- to shift right before his eyes.

“God,” Fystian croaked, never realizing that he too was changing.

The transitions lasted all of four minutes, if that long. Eventually, the two combatants stood looking upon one another as men. It was Fystian who stumbled back, for the man he saw was the slightly older version of his brother Caspian.

Victor Rwomire appeared devastated and disbelieving of what he saw. He only spared another few moments to study Fystian before he scrambled off into the brush.

The other man was long gone, yet Fystian continued to look off into the yard’s heavy foliage. At last, he bowed his head and inhaled, dreading what waited behind him more than the thing he’d just battled.

Lilia sat cradling her mother’s head in her lap. Her eyes, though, were fixed on Fystian.