Chapter 53
Arriving at Nalong Community Hospital and watching Noah explain to Dr Vertan why we hadn’t so much as called an ambulance was entertaining, now that we knew what we were looking for. He really could wield his gift of charm like a gold-gilded weapon. Dr Vertan was so distracted by Noah’s sparkly explanation that she didn’t seem to notice how easily he sliced through her natural concern. Tessa, who could usually be counted on to come up with the most convincing lies, just looked up at him from her wheelchair with wide eyes and an innocent smile, leaving him to answer the irate doctor. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where in the conversation the physician’s attitude changed, but within five minutes of him flashing his emerald eyes at her, she was congratulating us all on how well we’d kept our heads in such a dramatic situation. When I asked him to see if he could get the doctor to send Tessa home with a bottle of laughing gas for extra pain relief, he scowled at me.
Tessa’s parents and older brother, and the rest of Noah’s family arrived in a fluster of embraces shortly after, along with Aunt Lily, who had been struggling to hide from them the fact that she had known for hours that the baby was on its way.
Nathaniel checked out perfectly fine, of course, to the immense relief of all the hospital staff. The doctor was pleased with Tessa’s state of health as well—she’d done the return trip to the farm in the canoe with Noah hunched over his son and Dallmin steering through the fading light, but even that had been a tough ask for a tough day. When she was given the all clear, Noah shed a quiet tear of relief as his dad pulled him into a gruff hug. Tessa wanted to come home straight away, but it made more sense for her to remain in hospital for a few days—for all sorts of reasons.
By the following afternoon the gifts had begun pouring in. A massive bunch of flowers sent from Caleb in the UK was accompanied by the cutest baby Hotspurs jumper that he’d posted to Liam ahead of time. Cards, flowers, chocolates, baby clothes, hampers and even movie tickets filled the tiny ward to overflowing. Nalong was a very close-knit town. Poor Aunt Lily tried hard to keep up with who had given what so we could send thank-you notes, but when Dallmin came in with four identical baskets full of local produce, she threw up her hands and told him to take them home. I certainly didn’t mind the sudden surplus of fruit and vegies.
Over the next twenty-four hours, visitor after visitor dropped in to our farm, much to Bane’s irritation. At one point he became so blunt telling people that Tessa was still not home that I asked him to go out patrolling with Tim.
‘No chance. Not with all these strangers rocking up unexpectedly,’ he grumbled.
‘Strangers? We’ve all known each other for years, Bane. Are you expecting Mrs Carpenter to smuggle Jake in under her skirt?’
‘Of course not,’ he acceded, rubbing his eyes. He looked tired. I knew he hadn’t been sleeping well. He couldn’t seem to relax. It was obvious that I was still in serious danger, which seemed to be getting worse over time if anything, and I didn’t know what I could do to help.
‘Would it be easier on you if we went somewhere else? Away from all the visitors?’ Picking up a few apples from one of the hampers on the coffee table, I started to juggle them.
He took a step closer to me as if worried I was going to run past him again, so with a sheepish grin I rolled all the apples except one back into the bowl, and offered it to him. Grabbing me around the waist, he frowned at the fruit in a mock struggle to resist, and then took a huge bite.
‘Are you aware of how tempting that sounds?’ he mumbled with his mouth full. ‘Going away somewhere together? Just us? No one else around?’
I leant forward to kiss him but he placed the apple deftly into my mouth before I could. ‘No, Lainie, I’m not that strong. I think we’d better stay where we have some accountability. Not to mention a marvellous team of friends and family who are willing to help me protect you.’
Nibbling idly, I pondered how best to ask him a favour. ‘Speaking of the patrol roster, I was wondering if we could give Dallmin some time off. He wants to get away for a while. He hasn’t said anything because he knows you want him here, but I can tell. The last couple of days have been rough on him and I think he wants some time to himself. He has a lot to try to come to terms with.’
Bane let me go and sat down on the couch. Everyone had noticed the change in the long-lived youth. He went about his tasks solemnly and only smiled when he held the baby. No more dancing, no more singing, no more climbing trees or sculpting things out of aluminium foil.
‘Of course he can go, but … are you sure he should be on his own? Wouldn’t he be better off with people to talk to? Will he be … safe?’
I shrugged. ‘As safe as anyone else on their own in the bush, I guess. He’s lived a long time and knows how to avoid injury—when he wants to … okay, maybe we can lend him a phone just in case.’
Bane nodded, but still looked worried, so I tried to reassure him.
‘Honestly though, periods of quiet and solitude aren’t unusual for Dallmin. I think he needs it. And who could he talk to that would understand? In fact, there aren’t many that I’d be comfortable having him talk to at all. When he’s ready he’ll come to me, I guess, not that I’ll be able to help much. It’s partially my fault that he’s in this mess in the first place. Why did Noah and I have to be spotted hang gliding by the one person who may well have been obsessed with the idea of flying since before Da Vinci was even born?’ I looked at Bane as if he could actually answer my rhetorical question, and then bit into my apple core when he didn’t.
The fruit I had adored all my life tasted a bit off after the bounty across the border. Not that there was any of that special nutrient I needed in the fruit from the orchards far to the north, but I still craved it. No choice, I was just going to have to sample every basket so I could bags the local ones before Noah did.
Just then we heard the front gate open, so I swallowed the rest of the core and went to stop Wendy from jumping all over the postman as he delivered yet another food hamper to our door. As he left, he passed a faded blue sedan I recognised. It was Beth Millard, so I dumped the parcel on the doorstep and went to close the gate behind her. I had been hoping to get a chance to see her again; there were so many things I wanted to know about Bane’s childhood that I was certain he would never willingly volunteer. She seemed a bit surprised when I pulled her into a tight hug the moment she climbed out of the car. Her perfume smelled like river reed blossoms from home. Glancing at Bane, I wondered if I had been too exuberant, but he laughed and hugged her just as hard. His mum looked pleased and gave us both a big smile so I relaxed again.
‘I bought some adorable clothes for the baby, as well as some music for him to listen to,’ she said, smoothing down her knee-length black skirt. ‘It will help him sleep. Besides, it’s never too early to introduce him to the classics.’ She reached into the back seat for a gift box, wrapped in olive paper with a wide black ribbon.
‘Thanks, we’ll pass it on. They’re due to come home tomorrow. Come in and I’ll put on some tea, Mrs Millard.’ I carried the gift for her while Bane retrieved the fruit basket from the doorstep and scowled at it. Perhaps his mum would have some suggestions as to how to mitigate the surliness that escaped him whenever he thought I wasn’t watching.
‘Actually, I’d prefer coffee if that’s okay, and please, Lainie, call me Beth. We’re all adults now, and you’re not one of my students, unfortunately.’
Three missing years meant a few adjustments that I hadn’t considered before. It felt weird to call adults by their first names, especially if they also happened to be teachers, or policemen. More to the point, I was supposed to be one of them too. Grown-up. Adult. Working at a career and responsible. I should have finished studying by now but I hadn’t even started. I’d had a really excellent extended gap year instead.
Walking down the hallway, I was suddenly hit with a massive case of Monday-itis. Play time was over for me if I was staying in Nalong. I would have to start getting my act together. It had been so long since I had thought about money that I didn’t even know if I had any. I’d have to ask Aunt Lily about it soon. And what about a career? Noah and Tess were settled on the farm, and I didn’t think they would be too impressed with having me hang around permanently, but this was my home. I wasn’t even certain I could live in town without feeling the need to visit here every day.
So what was I going to do? And what would Bane do? He’d said he was leaving the Army Reserves. Where did that leave him?
As we sat in the garden drinking tea, coffee, and devouring a heap of the home-made goodies the various visitors had brought for us, Beth methodically quizzed me on just about everything. It was a good thing my memories had started to return or I would have sounded like a right twit. As it was I struggled to answer basic things like what I thought about the menu at the pub and whether or not I liked scary movies. When she asked me about the places I had travelled to I nearly told her about my mountain climbing foray until I started choking on the words. That was when Bane took pity on me and suggested I go inside to dig up my old photo album for her to look at. He told me it was only fair since Beth had shown me all his baby pictures. It was a mixed blessing.
There were more albums on the shelf of the study than I remembered, and flipping quickly through them, it began to dawn on me that Aunt Lily must have spent considerable time piecing together as many memories of me as she could. There were photos from graduation and the night of the fateful dinner dance that made me smile, as well as a heap of random memorabilia. She’d even included a couple of my pathetic attempts at poetry I’d had to produce for English. That was rather sad, but it did make me stop and think about how selfish I’d been. With barely a thought for those I’d left behind, I’d been prepared to remain in Eden indefinitely. It didn’t necessarily feel like it had been the wrong thing for me to do, only that there were consequences that I needed to take responsibility for. Growing up with the belief that my mother had committed suicide, I’d sometimes felt shamefully angry at her for leaving me, and then finding out that she was still alive had made me even angrier. Yet for three whole years it hadn’t occurred to me that I had done something similar to the people I’d left behind. With a renewed sense of guilt, I had to lean against the wall for a minute or so, wallowing, before I composed myself enough to go back outside.
When I came back out I noticed Beth wiping away a tear, but her eyes, pale as her son’s, were full of joy. I looked curiously at Bane, who just grinned back at me as he tucked something into his pocket. Then the two of them spent far too long lingering on the few photos my aunt had bullied me into over the years.
Later on, after she left, I plucked up the courage to question him about her emotional reaction. Apparently he’d told her that he was planning to stay in Nalong for the foreseeable future, which had delighted her. I could understand why. I cooked him pancakes for dinner to celebrate.
We packed as much food and basic camping gear for Dallmin as he could carry, explaining to him as best we could how to take care of himself, and what would happen if he ate the wrong plants or stepped on a snake. Bane had taken us into town to buy us each a mobile phone, and had done a terrible job of trying to look relaxed while still glaring at anyone who approached us to say hello. No one had seemed surprised by his behaviour though, as it was more or less in character with how he had been all through high school anyway.
Dallmin learnt how to use the device very quickly for someone who had never been exposed to any sort of electronics before. It was the sort of thing that would have entranced him just a few weeks earlier. Bane told him to keep it with him at all times and not let it get wet, and explained that the brand new battery should last at least a couple of days so long as he only used it for emergencies. I had a feeling he’d set it up so we could use it to track him if required. Such useful technology, and yet my own new phone sat in the back pocket of my jeans, weighing me down. I tried not to think about it.
With one last tight hug, I told Dallmin I wanted him to return in three days at the latest, because I was worried for his safety.
‘There’s still so much of this world I haven’t explained to you yet. Please be careful. When you come back I’ll try to help you some more.’
Half-heartedly he returned my embrace, his partially grown beard prickling my chin. He didn’t seem to be interested in trying out new things anymore and no longer even bothered to shave.
‘I will care for myself as you ask. And I will return here by Saturday night.’
I smiled, feeling a tiny bit more relieved at the reminder that Dallmin picked things up so quickly—he even had a handle on time-keeping and calendars, despite living for so long with no need for them. He would adjust well, at least in some ways.
His heavy pack didn’t seem to impede him at all as he marched down the track toward the state park, which made me regret not packing him more medical supplies. There was so much for him to deal with and I knew he needed this time alone, but I felt very apprehensive at the thought of sending him out in the world by himself. Mentally I slapped myself on the back of the head. He was old. Really old. He would be fine.
After a hundred metres or so he turned and signed a casual goodbye, which I returned wistfully. If only I could offer him even just a shred of hope that perhaps one day he could go home. Had this ever happened before? Had anyone ever come out of Eden and then returned? Remembering Tessa’s discovery when I’d first come back, I turned to Bane.
‘I need to do some research. Feel like giving me a hand?’
‘Computer. Nice and safe. I want to find out more about the Children of Eden at Telassar.’
‘Sure. I’ll help. What exactly are you hoping to find?’ he asked, entwining his fingers with mine.
‘A way for Dallmin to go home.’
Six and a half hours later I had rubbed my eyes so much that any light behind them was probably glowing crimson. It had been a long time since I had read so much, and it was giving me a whopping headache. Bane had already healed me once, which had allowed me to keep concentrating, but now he was frowning at me, torn between wanting to heal and wanting me to just be sensible and stop for a while.
‘Have you noticed that we’re going in circles now?’ he pointed out as I tried to cross-reference yet another ancient myth. ‘We’re back to the defeat of the Assyrian King Sennacherib at the siege of Jerusalem, which seems to be linked to the account of that Egyptian Pharaoh dude … Sethos?’
Screwing up my face, I tried to remember which one he meant. He took pity and explained.
‘Sethos was the one who heard that Sennacherib was on his way to attack Egypt, and then dreamt that his Egyptian god told him he’d send someone to sort it out. So he marched his small army out, ready to fight, but that night a plague of field mice ate all the quivers, bow strings and shield straps of the invading army, and so Sennacherib was defeated and can you please stop looking so intrigued, Lainie. It’s a bad idea. I hate mice.’
‘Well it does sound like something I’d do, you have to admit,’ I sulked, slumping my head down on the table and letting my hands drop to the floor. ‘Surely it’s better than the Jerusalem siege where 185,000 Assyrians were killed by an angel. 185,000 people, Bane. I’m glad I’m not an angel. At least I can’t kill. Could you imagine? I’m terrified enough of my authority as it is.’ A vision of thousands of dead soldiers piled up around my feet took over my aching brain. My stomach flipped unpleasantly as I imagined how easy it would be if I had the right Words.
Joints popped as Bane stretched his back. ‘I think it’s time for a break, don’t you? Maybe I could find us something to eat other than fruit. The Sunraysia orchards will be out of stock soon at the rate people are buying these fruit baskets. Is it so difficult to think of gifts to buy here? I’ve never once bought a fruit hamper for someone.’
‘It’s a farm thing,’ I mumbled, saving the link to the Sethos story. ‘We like to support local produce wherever possible. They’ve been given a lot of woollen baby products too. Did you see those tiny lamb’s wool booties? They’re seriously adorable.’
He had diverted me yet again. Within seconds I had gone from teetering on the brink of panic about the overwhelming powers I was struggling to come to terms with, to thinking about booties. My attention was all over the place these days, and it was so hard to focus, but at least I was beginning to recognise it now. Goodness knows what I would have been like without my Guardian to keep me sane. I owed him everything.
With a decisive snap, I closed the laptop. It was going to take some expert help to find the information I needed, if it even existed. I had no way of knowing what internet sites were even trustworthy, let alone be able to sort through the complex web of stories, myths and historical facts. The thread of evidence I had was tentative at best. I knew nothing of Middle-Eastern history, and I was not likely to become an expert by surfing the sites I’d seen so far.
Turning finally to face him, I took his miraculous hands and placed them on my temples. With obvious relief, he practically purred as healing heat seared away my headache. In a few short breaths the pain was gone. His fingers lingered on my face. Delicious, precious moment. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the feeling of having someone really care about me. I deserved none of it, but I revelled in it all the same, cradling his hand against my cheek and kissing the scars on his wrist. Scars he had gained trying to defend me, which I couldn’t heal for him.
‘Bane, it’s getting late. We should go to bed.’
‘I mean because you’re tired, naughty boy.’
‘Oh. Right. I am. Just let me check in with the others first,’ he said with a yawn, glancing at his watch. ‘Tim’s due to take over from Liam at one am, so I’d better make sure he’s getting some rest now like he’s supposed to. He already covered Nicole’s shift this morning.’
If his tone had been any flatter, I could have spread it with lemon and sugar and eaten it for breakfast. A brief touch of his wrist confirmed my suspicion. He was furious with her, which made it easy to draw out the right memory of the phone call from Liam. Nicole had been skipping out on her last few patrol shifts and not informing anyone. Apparently she believed Tessa was safe enough in hospital, and if Jake came for me, she didn’t particularly care.
‘Bane, this is nuts. You have no right to be mad at Nicole. She’s not one of your squad mates. This can’t continue for much longer, it’s not fair. On anyone. I think we should consider taking another approach.’
‘Such as?’ Shoulder muscles bulged with new tension, and his eyes became wary.
‘Such as drawing Jake out. You know, taking charge of the situation so we can control the variables,’ I suggested, trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about. I expected him to laugh in my face. He didn’t.
‘Lainie, that sounds worryingly close to what you did last time. And I haven’t entirely forgiven you for that stunt yet.’
‘I had a plan,’ I defended. ‘And it was a good one. Sorry it was a bit unfair on you. I just didn’t want you to get hurt again.’
He looked beyond exasperated. ‘Your plan was to get yourself kidnapped by an armed lunatic drug addict? What if the others hadn’t been able to wake me?’
‘I didn’t need you. I only needed Noah to get close enough to be at risk. With all three Cherubim threatened I was sure I could arrange a safe way to end things.’
‘I thought we established that you can do nothing to protect yourself.’
‘Not directly, but with us all at risk at once, I still reckon I could have managed to disarm him at least,’ I argued, more confidently than I felt.
He turned my shoulders toward him and looked me in the eyes. His voice shook a little. ‘Lainie, listen to me. You can’t take risks like that anymore. There’s a reason these forces are at play, and we can’t afford to mess around with them. I’m supposed to protect you. Don’t ever do that to me again. Please.’
I glared right back, feeling irritated. ‘Actually, I’m not sure I could if I wanted to. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, convincing myself that it was necessary to protect Eden. But I did. Which means it was. You told me once that I needed to learn to trust my instincts, but it won’t help if you don’t trust them as well. I need to be free to do my job, Bane. You can’t keep me locked away from everything!’ Drawing myself up, I blurted out my opinion before I could chicken out again. ‘I think we should use Jake’s compulsion against him. Tempt him to breach his bail conditions by making contact with me, and when he does, we’ll have him arrested. I don’t need to be in any danger. I can do it all from the safety of this house. So long as you promise me you’ll stay away from him and let Sergeant Loxwood deal with it.’
‘I’m not promising any such thing. I’ll do whatever it takes to stop him, Lainie. This isn’t some ordinary psychopath we’re dealing with here, as if those aren’t bad enough. He’s compelled to kill you! Do you really understand what that means? He won’t stop. Not ever. Not even if we send him to jail. He’ll eventually find a way to charm himself out, or discover some other power he can use to get to you. I can’t let that happen.’
Great. My own personal Terminator. Just what I needed. I crossed my arms. ‘And exactly how are you planning to protect me once you end up in jail as well? Ask the wardens to please send me a text in between your trips to the bathroom to chuck? Be sensible about this. I know you have skills now, from all your training, but so do I. I’m not useless here. Let me help, before someone else gets caught in the crossfire again.’
‘I’m not going to let you offer yourself up as bait! It goes against everything I’ve been taught, as well as against all my instincts.’ He was standing now, with his arms crossed and looking very grumpy. I almost expected him to stamp his foot.
‘Let me?’ I retorted, matching his obstinate stance. ‘Careful, you’re getting awfully close to convincing me that Eden really would be safer if you just slept through the whole thing!’
‘Are you threatening me? Seriously?’ He raised his voice to match mine.
I had gone too far and I was too angry to care. I was disorientated by my return and all the dramas since, but not stupid, and not useless either. He wasn’t even going to listen to my suggestion.
We scowled at each other for a few more seconds before I slumped down onto the chair again. I had no real interest in arguing and I was no good at it anymore anyway. ‘No, of course not,’ I said. ‘It was a horrible thing to do to you, even if it was for your own good. And you’re right. My plan was not a great one. I could easily have gotten us all killed. I’m sorry I did it and I won’t do it again … so long as you promise not to send me into protective custody again either.’
Broad shoulders that had been braced, ready to hold up the entire planet, finally relaxed, and he knelt down in front of my chair as if asking for forgiveness. ‘I won’t. That was very nearly the worst mistake of my life, and I’ve made some pretty bad ones.’ He peered up at me from under his long lashes. ‘And for what it’s worth I do understand why you did it. I know I’d be pretty tempted if I could keep you from doing anything risky. But that’s not how relationships are supposed to work.’ A scowl flickered across his brow. ‘I suppose we’re just going to have to learn to trust each other.’ He squeezed his eyes shut for a second and breathed deeply, deciding, and when he opened them again he nodded. ‘Jake was supposed to report in to the police this morning—he didn’t show. The sergeant’s been trying to locate him all week with no success. No one’s seen him since he came back from Melbourne. Even his family didn’t realise he’d returned, not that they seem to want to have much to do with him anyway. If he really is lurking around the bush here somewhere then I hate to admit it, but you’re probably right. It would be better to deal with him on our own terms rather than wait for him to act. I’ll call Sergeant Loxwood tomorrow and see what he thinks of your suggestion. Please promise me you won’t do anything without letting me know first? I’ll even try to be reasonable and listen next time.’ His pale eyes sought mine, questioning how angry I was with him.
‘I’ll keep you informed as best I can,’ I said, reminding him that I couldn’t always tell him everything. Some words would never make it past my lips, but I would try. I owed him that much.