Nye
“Are there strawberries?” Kiri asked.
“Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries…”
“Take me to them.”
I helped her up and reached for her cane. We walked side by side, her hobbling, but not wanting my help. The limestone path wound around. Kiyoshi loved curving paths. He had each area cleaved off. When we got to the berries, Kiri smiled, and I had to look away and lock my hands behind my back. Every part of me wanted to grab her and kiss those lips that were so nicely curved up.
She lifted her shirt to create a basket causing it to tighten against her backside. My shorts hung past her knees. How was it that she could make my clothes look alluring?
She passed me her cane, then started to pick at the berries. Her fingers were so gentle, pulling just enough for the berries to fall. The red, plump strawberries, the rich, dark, blackberries, and the red and golden raspberries.
Walking back down the path, she brought a strawberry to her lips. Her mouth surrounded it. It was so quiet I could hear her break the skin and suck in the juice.
I knew she was holding back from making too much noise after how she devoured the apple. Her tongue caressed her lips, catching the last of the berry’s sweetness.
“What’s your favorite berry?” she queried.
“Um…blackberries, I suppose.” Before I knew what happened her fingers were holding a blackberry to my lips.
“Open,” she ordered and I obliged.
The sweet berry hit my tongue, but her finger stayed between my lips and our eyes locked. I didn’t know which was sweeter. I sucked lightly on her finger as she slowly pulled it out. Her thumb then stroked my chin right under my lip where some juice had escaped. Then her hand cradled my jaw.
“More?” Her voice was breathy as she stood on her tiptoes so she was right by my lips.
“Um…” I swallowed hard. More. Did I want more? I wanted more than more. I wanted all.
* * * *
Kiriana
Oh! My! God! What was I thinking? Nye’s tongue had tickled my finger when he sucked it in. Talk about heat. My whole body was warm as hell. He could’ve pushed me up against a wall, squishing the berries up against my body, and I wouldn’t have protested for a second.
He was man in its purest form. Strong. Toned. Gentlemanly. How was that possible in one person? I sucked my lips in and knew any relationship was going to be impossible. Get your head on straight, Kiri. Kiriana. No one calls me Kiri. No one but him. When that name rolled off his lips, my whole body softened.
In the room I found a crystal bowl that had some decorative balls in it and took them out. Dropping the cane, I walked to the bathroom to rinse the bowl and the berries.
They were soft as the cool water cleaned them. The light hair that’s always on a berry tickled as it touched the pads of my fingers. I wished Nye would just come in behind me, let his hands meet mine and trap me against the sink with his hard body. His lips would glide down my neck as our fingers kept pretending to wash the fruit.
I looked in the mirror to see my flushed face and then I looked farther and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at me. My glance caused him to turn away.
Walking into the room, I sat at the top of the bed and placed the bowl between us. I crossed my arms and really looked at him.
“I thought you didn’t have any powers,” I said accusingly.
“I don’t.”
“Then what was that?”
“What was what?”
“In the bathroom. The little suggestion you had for me.”
“I didn’t have a suggestion.”
“Fine. Play it that way.”
I stretched out on the bed and popped a berry in my mouth.
“Well…so, you got any hard liquor?”
“I stopped drinking when I realized I wanted to complete my sentence. With no real downtime, drinking just puts me at a higher risk for death, but I could get you something if you want.”
“I don’t need anything, but isn’t this downtime?”
“We hunt at noon and midnight. The hunt can take three to four hours. Usually, I sleep and eat in between.”
“You don’t have to stay awake for me.”
“I slept earlier. It was a shorter hunt.”
“How long have you been working that schedule?”
“A little over a hundred and fifty years,” Nye replied.
“Everyone has that schedule?”
“Yes,” he said, confused again by my questioning.
We both reached in the bowl to retrieve a berry. His fingers lightly touched mine and heat came off them again.
“Why does that happen?”
“Why does what happen?”
“The hot and the cold.”
“I’m not really a science person. It has something to do with the rotation of the earth, so I’ve read.”
“Okay, smartass, don’t tell me.”
“I really don’t know what you mean.”
“Your skin,” I said, taking his hand in mine. It was warm again and I turned it over. My fingers traced the lines of his palm. “Even now it’s heating up.”
“No, it’s not,” he whispered.
“And before it was cold. Like ice-cold.”
I looked at him. He was staring at my finger. He must have noticed me looking at him and our eyes met.
“You said you’d tell me everything.”
I kept my voice soft and my finger circling inside his palm. His temperature dropped again. How could his body go from a hundred to twenty in a split second?
“Our temperature is guided by our mood. I can’t feel the difference. To me I’m always the right temperature.”
“What does cold mean?” I kept my finger moving even though I was starting to fear frostbite.
His voice stayed slow and our eyes remained locked, as if I had him in a trance. I was a snake charmer and he was my snake.
“Fear, embarrassment, anger, rage…”
“Are you mad at me, Nye?”
“Ashamed.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
He shook himself and I realized I had stopped tracing his palm. He removed his hand from mine.
I had lost my chance.
* * * *
Nye
The trance Kiri had me trapped in was soothing. I had no idea what I said. How much had I said? She looked disappointed. I must have said too much.
Adrenaline rushed through my veins. I hadn’t felt that in years. Even when hunting, I hadn’t felt this kind of rush. I needed something from her. I wanted to know about her. I needed to know about her.
“I shared with you.”
“I guess.”
She picked the bowl up and placed it in her lap. Maybe I hadn’t said as much as I thought. Or maybe I said something to upset her.
“Could you do the same for me?”
“Hungry?” she asked, holding out a blackberry to me.
This time I wasn’t going to make the same mistake and touch her.
“Maybe later.”
Her hand curled around the berry; she cocked her head to the side and pulled her lips together. She looked upset with my choice. Or maybe it was because she wanted me to touch her. That’s how she pulled me in last time.
“What do you want to know?” she asked, then popped the berry in her mouth.
“Are you from here?”
“No. I just moved from California.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a coach. Track, at the college.”
“Do you teach, too?”
“I’ll have two courses this fall. One in the spring.”
“Is it sports you teach?”
“Kind of. I majored in sports psychology so I’m teaching track coaching, but also some coaching philosophy type courses.”
“What does that cover?”
“You know, how to motivate teams, the mind of an athlete. You need to know how to get inside a person to really make them achieve their potential.”
“Is that what you did to me?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Her delicate fingers circled the crystal bowl.
“Would you like some?”
Something about the way she asked me seemed as if she was saying something else. It was probably just more of those stupid fantasies I’d been having. Great, the bowl was frosting over.
She nodded and set it back down. It was like she figured something out.
“What did I say before?”
“You don’t remember?”
“No.”
“You said you were ashamed.”
“About what?”
“You never said.”
“Why would I be ashamed?”
“You tell me.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m nervous about Gabriel. He tends to not be forgiving when rules are bent.”
“And I’m the bendy one here?”
Swallowing hard, a thought sent a thousand visions to my groin.
“Something like that.”
Her finger began playing with the green on the top of a strawberry.
“What rule are you bending?”
“You’re what we call a normal, they’re not allowed in the house.”
“So…” Kiri made a swift movement and ended up straddling my hips. I held my breath unsure of what she was doing. She placed the strawberry at the edge of my lips, then pulled back before I could bite it. Surrounding the tip of the red berry with her lips she licked it lightly then bit. “Sharing food isn’t the problem?”
She placed the berry in my open mouth this time and I bit. The sweet juice coated my tongue.
“No,” I whispered. “Eating is not a problem.”
Her hips shifted up and she placed her hands on the headboard, trapping my head between her arms.
“What about being close?” she asked and my lips began to tingle. “Would the rules be broken if I were to kiss you?”
“Remember when I said I come from a different time…” I began, but she leaned in and captured my lips. Warm and soft, her lips fell against mine. My arms surrounded her as my hands traveled up her back and came to rest at the base of her neck.
She moaned against my mouth as her lips spread. Her tongue licked at my lips. As much as I wanted to taste her I couldn’t. She had reinvigorated my spirit. Almost as if I had been reborn. Since I became a member of the Frozen, I hadn’t felt alive. Maybe this is what Lars was talking about. Could she be bringing me back? Back to when my heart beat for a reason. Her smile seemed to make my whole world make sense again.
Then I felt it. The sinking feeling of what I’d be bringing her into. The world of the walking dead. That wouldn’t be fair.
With a sudden release she pulled away then crossed the room and grabbed a blanket from the chair. Wrapping herself up, she came back and looked at me.
“You can’t freeze me out. I won’t let you.” Kiri’s voice was stern.
“I don’t want to.”
“If I talk, will you warm up?”
“What will you talk about?”
“You wanted to know about me, right? Hey, maybe I’ll become your favorite subject.”
“Maybe.”
Definitely! I thought, and realized I did scream in my own head. I hoped I hadn’t woken Zarmina up with that one. It only took about five minutes for the blanket to slip down Kiri’s shoulders. My temperature must have gone back up. She had relaxed me.
* * * *
Damarion
Voicemail. Again. Fuck.
With a map in front of me, I imagined a million scenarios and couldn’t get my leg to stop shaking. Where the hell was she?
“Yahweh?” A soft, sweet, soprano voice floated in my office. Cailean, it had to be.
“Yes,” I answered not looking up from my map. The topographical breakdown of the whole county, not that the breakdown was saying much. A few ponds they called lakes. No real hills.
“There is a bantling ready to be released.”
“One actually made it to maturity? However is that?”
“I just need to know his assignment.”
Pulling open a drawer in a black, dented file cabinet, my fingers glided over the records.
“Where had he emerged from?”
“The east.”
The file came back to me at once. It was a good emersion. The bantling came home quickly with little trouble. Zuma brought it in. My mind was clicking with the memories as if I’d become fully restored after a good meal and nap.
“Is he with you?”
“No. He is in the fourth house,” Cailean answered.
“Fine,” I stood up and finally looked at her. She was cowering with her head bent low.
“Is there more?”
“No,” she looked doe-eyed and innocent. “Should there be?”
“You look…” My hand spun as I tried to put into words that she looked scared. “Never mind.”
Walking past her, she eeked. “Do I not please your eye?”
“Pardon?” I turned back to her.
“You have begun to take us, regularly, have you not?”
“Take who?”
“The other Deumos?”
“What I do or do not take is not your business.”
“But you do not wish to take me?”
What was I suppose to say? I’m in love with the Princess and the thought of fucking any of you nasty whores is enough to make me want to vomit. I’d felt like shit ever since I had taken Nemesio. Both times. Cailean wouldn’t be any different.
“I do not wish to have this discussion with you.”
“I am just as skilled,” she assured me.
“So is any creature with a hole.”
“His name is Gregor,” Cailean stated while arching her back.
“Whose?”
“The bantling …but Yahweh …I do hope you reconsider.”
I walked back to her and tried to think of a diplomatic solution.
“If I take you before the week is out, will that appease you? I have much to do and taking time to properly lie with you would consume my day.”
Her hand glided down my chest to the top of my pants. With a gentle tug, she pulled me close.
“Do you promise?” she asked in a husky voice, losing the innocent façade she’d created.
None of them were innocent. What was I thinking? Innocence can only be found in the humans who are ignorant to the world that truly surrounds them.
“By the end of the week…if Nemesio bores me.”
“Variety is the spice of life, Yahweh. Nemesio is but a sprinkling of cinnamon.”
Leaning closer to her lips, I asked, “And you are?”
“Pequin.”
“Because you are the smallest?”
“Most cannot handle my heat.”
“Pequin does have a kick to it.”
“I call it a bite.”
Standing on her tiptoes, she reached for me, pulling my mouth to hers, kissing me in a way I was not ready for, but enjoyed just the same. Her teeth bit at my lower lip, pulling it with her. As she released me from her hold I smiled.
“I’ll remember that.”
“Please do.”
These fucking Deumos were going to kill me. I leveled my head and walked across the cul-de-sac. Opening the door, I bellowed for the demon.
“Gregor.”
“Yes,” a deep Hispanic accent greeted me. His eyes were a light shade of brown against his dark tan skin. His hair had been allowed to grow, so he must have been a reincarnation. He had a second chance to finish whatever he might have started. He probably looked better than he had in real life. The Prince liked his lackeys to be fit and suave. Con men, every one.
“You are to go on tonight’s shipment of fireplaces. According to our intel, the truck is going to stop in three cities, the final being Tempe. From there you are to travel south however you can until you reach the pueblo of Tetillas, Mexico.”
“Sí.”
“Yeah, work on the real language.”
I passed him a thick envelope filled with pesos and a bag with enough food to get him past the border.
“Ropa?”
“Needy little bitch, aren’t you?”
I looked to see what his scam was to be. I smiled.
“You’re good. The poor beggar that speaks to God. The cult will be easy to form if you pull the women in first.”
He looked at me as if I was supposed to give him more.
“What?”
“Nemesio. Can I see her once more? Now that I am a man.”
I laughed out loud at the request. Like I could share a Deumos.
“Find a human. You’ll have to wait until you reach Mexico. Unless you find a strung-out whore that can’t tell the difference between a dollar or a peso.”
Turning, he reached, wrenching my shoulder and pulling me back.
“I need a woman now.”
Fucking rapists; they were so damn needy.
Quickly, I grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm around until I heard a snap. A howl came from him and a smile came to my face.
“That should heal by the time you arrive. Now be gone from this town.”
“How am I to heal?”
“How we all heal. You just do. Do try to keep that arm straight so it doesn’t look strange”
* * * *
Nye
Crap! How the hell did this happen? It felt wonderful, but nothing good could come of this. At my feet was the bowl precariously resting. That was not the problem. My problem was that right now my arm was holding onto Kiri. Her body was so warm and soft against mine. I didn’t even remember when we fell asleep.
Her back was against me and my face was buried in her hair. I breathed in deep, but the magnolias were almost gone. Now she smelled like roses. The closer I got to her scalp, I found the magnolias again. This lingering smell had me snuggling tight with her. My nose was now touching her head. The scent had my body relaxing. I didn’t know why. There was so much pain on the plantation. Maybe I was returning to a time when I was human. When I was a man.
My arm instinctively curled, securing her body to mine, and a light moan escaped from her. I could feel I was hard again. This was becoming an epidemic, but what did I expect. She was still in my shirt and shorts. I was not sure why she hadn’t changed, but part of me wanted to believe she was not changing because they were my clothes.
I could feel the smoothness of her feet rubbing my legs. My flesh chilled, but not from shame. To her it probably felt warm, but to me I knew I had gooseflesh. Just as my arm had tingled, now a surge of electricity ran inside my left leg from my ankle up to the middle of my thigh.
My arm around her was held tight by hers and my hand was between her breasts. I had to move. I didn’t even know what time it was, but whatever the time was I needed to move. Shifting, I tried to escape her sweet smell only to have my lips hit the smooth skin on her collarbone.
I tugged on my arm and it started to slip free, only to have her clasp down harder.
“Don’t even think about it,” she said.
Her eyes were still closed. I tried again.
“No. It’s mine.”
Okay she was asleep and my arm obviously was reminding her of a doll or bear she once had. I leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“Kiri…Kiri…I need my arm.”
“No.”
This time she tugged so hard she pulled me on top of her.
“Hi,” she smiled, her eyes batting away the sleep. “Oh…wait…is this because of what I said last night? Or morning…What time is it? ’Cuz I told you that’s in the past. I haven’t done that for over six months. I’m flattered, but no.”
“You pulled me.”
“Oh,” her face blushed red. I rolled to my back.
“Sorry,” she said. “When I sleep…well, I’ve been known to say and do things.” Her bottom lip became caught by her top teeth. They held tight, causing her lip to have a white stripe that slid as her lip released slowly and then blushed red once again. I turned my head to the side and focused on the picture of a lily on the wall, anything to get my mind off the fullness of Kiri’s lips.
“I’d say you have superhuman strength. I never met someone who could manhandle me like that.”
“It sucks to be you,” she said, turning to her side, propping herself up and touching a finger to my bicep. “It’s fun being manhandled sometimes. As long as you don’t have an arrow in your leg. Personally, I’ve never had so much fun getting out of the tub before.”
She smiled shyly, turning her eyes down for a moment.
The gooseflesh returned and I let my mind wander to the thought of waking up to find her looking at me. Her eyes were sparkling. Her touch was silken. Her lips were turned up at the corners and I could see her white teeth behind the soft, pink lips. Her finger wandered to my face and I let it trace down my jaw. The light touch stopped at my chin then went to my bottom lip. Kiri’s face came closer to mine and a part of me was hoping she was going to kiss me again. Her lips came ever closer to mine. I could hear my heart beating in my ears. She moistened her lips and I felt as if my wish was about to come true.
I smiled, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Nye, you fucking asshole, get up!”
Kiri’s finger dropped and it took everything in me to not reach for it.
“Is that your normal alarm?”
“Funny. No, she’s not happy about you being here.”
Damn it! Why did I say that? Now Kiri was going to feel bad.
“I’m sorry I never asked. What is she to you?”
“My partner. Dilana is sealed to another.”
“Nye!”
Three more loud pounds.
“I’m comin’.”
“TMI. I don’t care if your pet is licking your goddamn taint, you still need to get your ass up.”
Now I was pissed. I jumped off the bed and threw open the door.
“D. My patience is wearing thin.”
“The feeling’s mutual.”
“Have I ever been late?”
“Not the point,” she growled.
“Yes, it is! You’re not even dressed for fighting.”
“If you are one second late…”
I slammed the door in her face.
“I apologize. I don’t even know what she meant but I’m sure it was defamatory. Was it?”
“Yes. TMI. Too much information. The taint is an area of the body. How is it you don’t know these things?”
“Dilana only knows things because Kiyoshi goes out. I don’t want to know what part, do I?”
“Probably not.”
“I do need to go out again. You can stay in here or feel free to roam the house. I’d avoid the upstairs. Those are our private chambers.”
“What is this?”
“The arrivals chamber. It gives the new people a place to unwind until we can get their room correct.”
“Could I see your room?”
* * * *
Kiriana
The look on Nye’s face was enough to send me back to seventh grade. I had never seen a guy more disgusted from a single question. Last time it was Lewis Stamp. But even he didn’t narrow his eyes like Nye had. Just moments ago his face had been inviting. I’d stroked his cheek without him freezing me.
“Stay on the main floor. Kiyoshi will be around if you need anything.”
“I…I…I…your room…it was just because…I-I just don’t want you to think I was trying to dig or something.”
“I only offer because I’m sure this room is starting to drive you crazy. I saw how your face brightened on our walk.”
“It’s fine. I’ll stay on this level,” I said, rolling over on my side and looking at the wall.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Don’t rush. Nothing good comes from a rushed execution.”
He left and I wiped away a tear from my eye. Stupid girl. That was what I was. A girl. A stupid. Stupid. Daydreaming girl.
I stayed in the room trying to fight a headache. Tossing and turning in the bed, I finally fell asleep again.
I woke to a delicious smell. Opening my eyes, I saw a plate with freshly baked orange rolls with cream cheese icing. My finger swiped at it and I brought the warm, white sweetness to my lips. Rolling on my back, I realized the headache was still there.
“How are you?” Nye’s voice startled me.
“Headache.”
“Do you not want the rolls? I know it is dinner time, but you had flautas for breakfast.”
“No, I’d love to eat them, but my neck is just stiff. Do you have some Advil or Aleve?”
Oh shit, my meds, I thought. How many doses had I missed? What did Dr. Franklin say last time I missed? Shit. Part of me thought I should screw it. Nye may still kill me, so why deal with the side effects of my cocktail, but I knew better. He would release me sometime, but I couldn’t chance it being long enough for my HIV to turn into AIDS.
“You said you could send someone if I needed something from my apartment?”
“Yes but we have anti-inflammatories here.”
“It’s not that. I have to take certain medications each day. I don’t even know what to do for missed doses.” I ran my fingers through my hair trying to straighten out the tangles.
“Do you know the names? We may have them.”
“No. They’re specialized. Please. I left my keys in my mailbox.”
“How important are they?”
“Life and death important.”
“Okay. Write down the information and Kiyoshi will go. I promise he will not dilly-dally.”
“Dilly-dally?” I had to laugh at that. “Sorry. Eighteen hundreds, right?”
Nye smiled, “Yes. What would be a better saying?”
“Dilly-dally is a great phrase. Um, but now I guess it’d just be he won’t hang out or squat. I think dilly-dally is appropriate.” This big guy was using such dainty language. I loved every minute of it. Then the headache increased. I pressed my palm against my forehead and tried to find a point to relieve the pressure.
Nye flew to the bed and massaged my shoulders, rubbing a knot out that was right by my left shoulder blade. I let my head fall back and I think that was when he realized he was touching me.
“I’m sorry. I’ll go get you the Advil. Um…I think there’s a paper and pen in the nightstand. Write down your desires…um…needs. A…yeah…”
Once again I had scared him out of the room. Writing down my information, I tried to remember where I had left my pills. On the counter, I think, but then again they could be anywhere. Shit.
Nye brought back the ibuprofen. I ate a roll and drank the cold milk while he seemed to smile when I let out a satisfied mmm from the delicious pastry.
“You should sleep some more. It’s important. Kiyoshi should have your medication soon.”
I yawned and knew he was right. I needed sleep, I just hated missing my time with him. It seemed like all I did was sleep here.
“Nye, could you do me a favor?” I asked, as my eyes started to droop and I wondered if the pills he’d given me were stronger than ibuprofen.
“I’ll try.”
“Could I rest my head on your lap and you brush my hair with your fingers? It always relaxes my muscles. I’ll understand if you don’t want to, but my head is really hurting.”
He slid on the bed and placed a pillow on his legs. I curled up into him and held tight to his thigh, while my head rested on the soft satin pillow. Lightly at first, his fingers swept through my hair, almost like a breeze would cross a field of wheat, the stalks being tickled by it. The more he stroked my hair, the heavier my eyes got until the world was black and I drifted away.
* * * *
Nye
Gazing at her, I couldn’t help following her lead. I laid my head back and closed my eyes. The dreams came to me for the first time in years.
“Ya shouldn’t be lookin’, Big George,” Buck warned, keepin’ his eyes down at the dirt.
“I ain’t lookin’.”
“If I can see it, he can see it.”
I turned my head slightly to look at Leroy. Boss man was lookin’ at the womenfolk hangin’ clothes on the line. I always hated working this field. I preferred the one at the edge of the plantation. I didn’t like being ‘round those white folks.
“That’s masser’s niece. Ya know that.”
“I don’t take no never mind to the masser and his folks. I don’t know nothin’,” I grumbled as I broke up the clumps of dirt so we could turn over the field.
The sun kept beating down on me until I couldn’t take it anymore. I stood up and my back creaked and cracked while I walked over to the water pail. Reaching for the ladle, I felt the warm water go down my throat. At least they had placed it under the tree, so it wasn’t boiling.
“Big George, I don’t remember ya askin’ me for some water.”
Leroy was standing over me. His face had black stubble. The few teeth he had left in his head were brown and black as he spit his chaw at my feet. His greasy hair stuck to the side of his head from the sweat of the day and his tan shirt was faring just as well.
“Ah geez, Mister Leroy, I thinks the sun done cooked ‘did my brain. I’s sorry.”
“Big George, you ain’t foolin’ me, boy. I can see in your eyes you ain’t as dumb as they say you’s is.”
Leroy and I had gone back and forth for years. If ever I had a true enemy, it was him.
“Well Leroy, I thought you knew how to keep these boys workin’.”
Masser had arrived. He was dressed in the latest fashion of the day, his coat buttoned tightly around his rotund stomach while his freshly pressed shirt with its big collar held firmly to his ascot.
“Hey, Big George, what’s ya doin’ here?”
“I’s just gettin’ a little water.”
I kept my eyes down because his wife and niece were with him. His youngest daughter always thought of me as a toy she could play with.
“Hey, Georgie Porgie, can you give me a ride?”
“Not now, Miss Sidda, I’s got to work.”
“Please, Daddy. Please make Georgie gives me a ride,” her deep southern accent was drawing out all the words.
“Go on, Big George. Give Sidda a ride. The field can wait five minutes.”
Gritting my teeth I held my tongue as hard as I could. Looking up, my eyes caught the wrong person. Masser’s niece was standing there with her beautiful blue eyes and blond hair that was so fair it was almost white. She wore a baby blue hat with feathers and cornflowers in it, and long satin bow hugged snugly to her right cheek. Her lips had a deep red paint on them, and I caught my breath looking at her.
But that wasn’t the problem. The problem came when I smiled at her and she smiled back, arching her eyebrow when she did.
Leroy’s fist made contact with my face and sent my upper body twisting like one of the sheets in the wind. My spine snapped and crackled like a bug in the fire. The fight I tried to suppress emerged as my fist returned the favor.
Before I knew it, four men were holding me down, and masser was apologizing about the wild animal he had on his plantation.
“Yous like lookin’ at my kinfolk? At my womenfolk? You ain’t so slow you don’t know better. Yous don’t even know what to do with a woman, so why’s you lookin’ at her in such a way?”
For the first time I didn’t apologize. I didn’t humble myself to him. I kept my mouth shut as I got strung up. My arms pulled tight to the thick pole in the front yard. The leather straps cut into my wrists as my shoulders were pulled so hard I swore they were gonna come right out of the sockets.
The masser’s niece placed herself so she could see my face. A snarl like smile appeared and I knew this was what she wanted. I played so well into her hand.
“Uncle Jefferson, do you use the rule of thumb?”
“No, Charlotte. That’s only used on my chillren. You can’t use such a small measure on a nigger. They wouldn’t understand. Especially this one,” the masser’s hand grasped the back of my neck. “See, he’s slow. Ya know, the biggin’s always are. Plus, he’s dark as the devil hisself, so you’s gotta be careful around him. Bein’ dumb and evil-hearted is a vicious combination. Why, he mighta jumped you, takin’ your innocence in front of us all.”
“I thought you said this one was impotent, Pa?”
The genius son had to join in, emasculating me more.
“Yeah, but nigga men can’t control themselves around white women. It’s in their nature to try to violate them at every turn. That’s why you’s gotta protect the womenfolk.”
I bit at the pole to stop myself from saying that masser’s wife proved that theory wrong. He got this plantation from his wife’s family. Prolly the only way they could marry off that feist.
“Why you even keepin’ him around, Uncle?” Charlotte asked with a snarl. “If he ain’t no good for breedin’.”
Her look was more of disappointment. She licked her lips then moved her eyes to my crotch. I’d heard about girls like her. It wasn’t just the menfolk that wandered down to the slave quarters at night.
“I thoughts I seen him watchin’ her from across the field so I was payin’ close attention to him,” Leroy beamed with pride.
Buck was right. Leroy caught everything.
“Now, Big George, yous know better than to look at a white woman, don’t ‘cha?”
I kept my eyes focused ahead. You can’t look at them, just be their darn horsey or whatever else they want in the moment. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the satisfaction in Miss Charlotte’s eyes as the whip snapped and whistled, cutting through the air. I could feel it wrap around my body from my shoulder to my hip.
I woke up and shoved Kiri from me. I stormed across the room and looked at her in disgust, until she settled herself from the sudden awakening.
“What happened?” she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
She got up and stumbled weakly on her injured leg. That made me feel worse about taking out my anger on her. I shouldn’t have woken her. She started vomiting into the toilet. The vomit was black. The poison was finally finding its own way out of her body. Thank God. I held her hair back and knew she wasn’t Miss Charlotte.
“I’m sorry I pushed you.”
“I don’t…” she said as she vomited again. “…think it’s related.”
“I had a nightmare.”
She leaned against the cabinet and I handed her a cup of water.
“I suppose it’s an occupational hazard, working with demons and all. I’m sorry I never asked how the hunt went.”
“We never found the bantling, but I’m sure it’s locked up safe now.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” she said as her hand went back to her forehead and she tried to put on a brave face. “My head’s still spinning.”
“The poison’s working its way up and out.”
“Mmmmm. What did you give me before?”
“Ibuprofen.”
Even half drugged she could tell I was lying.
“Vicodin.”
“Well, it got the poison out. Narcotics make me puke.”
She smiled and used my shoulder to steady herself so she’d only have to take two steps to the bed. Flopping on her stomach, she stretched in the middle. She buried her face in the covers.
“Nye…how much longer?”
“I don’t know. You’re not fighting the poison as well as I thought you would.”
“That makes sense. Don’t drug me again.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Kiri rolled over.
“Was it about demons?”
“Me drugging you?”
“No, the nightmare.”
“Um…in a way, I suppose.”
“How long did I sleep?”
“Not too long, but it’s already nine.”
“Does the poison make me sleepy?”
“Fighting death will do that. Sleep allows your body to heal.”
“Do you think I’ll make it?”
“I pray you do.”
“Why? To avoid punishment?”
“I think the world is a better place because you are in it. Your death would darken it.”
A smile came to her face that made me heat up from inside.
“Do you believe in the butterfly effect?”
I paused, trying to think about what were the chances a butterfly in Japan flapped its wings making the air around Dilana’s first arrow arc and miss the bantling, only to hit Kiri.
“Do you know about that? You said you don’t get out much.”
“Yes, I’ve read about it. It’d take a lot of butterflies to get us to this situation.”
I had to chuckle a little thinking of hundreds of butterflies over the years each adding to the situation.
“Could our meeting be destiny or fate?”