EIGHTEEN HOURS LATER, Ramsey emerged from the bathroom after a long, hot shower, a shave, and some much-needed rest. After the draining conversation yesterday, Leroy had fed him and then directed him straight to the back bedroom to get some sleep. Attempting to argue only sapped his strength more, so he did as Leroy asked, thinking he’d catch a few more hours of shut-eye. Now, having slept almost the entire eighteen hours, he felt human again. Since there was no mirror in the bathroom, he could only assume he looked human again, too.
Heading into the kitchen area, he was happy to see the place had been cleaned up. The counters were wiped down, and the dishes no longer perched precariously on top of one another, waiting to be noticed. The dishwasher had been run, and the sink was empty. The living room still looked trashed, but the kitchen was usable again. He reached for a mug in the cabinet.
“Feeling better?”
He jumped and nearly dropped the cup in his hand. Ramsey turned to see Declan standing behind him.
“I hate it when you do that.”
Declan smiled. “Which is why I do it. Mind grabbing me one?”
Ramsey debated throwing one at him, but he handed him one instead.
“You certainly look better,” commented Declan.
“No more Heat Miser?”
“It was a good look on you.”
“I’m sure it was.”
They both helped themselves to coffee.
Ramsey noticed the quiet of the house. “Where is everyone?”
Declan took a sip of his drink. “After you went to sleep yesterday, I convinced Leroy to take a break and go see his wife. He argued with me, but he finally went. He was worried we might be invaded again.”
“And you knew we wouldn’t be?”
“I feel nothing aggressive with regard to Sarah. At least not like I did before. It’s as if, whoever this man is, he’s biding his time. He’s not in any hurry, it seems.”
“Then why come after her when he did?”
“I think it had something to do with the timing. Probably whatever she was going through. I think he misjudged it, though. He came too early or too late.”
“Good thing he did.”
“No kidding.”
“So Leroy went home?”
“Said he’d be back this morning.”
“Figured he would be. He’s a mother hen.” Ramsey took a mouthful of coffee and almost sighed in appreciation when the caffeine hit his system. “Where’s Hannah?”
“In the master, with Sarah.”
“I should go relieve her.” He took another sip of the hot drink and headed toward the master bedroom.
“John…” Declan stepped away from the counter.
Holding his cup, Ramsey stopped. “What?”
“Mind if I ask you something?” Declan’s expression was unreadable. “What was that exchange between you and Morgana yesterday?”
“Exchange? That’s a nice word for it.”
“What does she have on you?”
Ramsey’s face darkened for a moment when he realized what Declan was referring to. “She doesn’t have anything on me.”
“Could have fooled me. You closed up. I could feel it.”
“You should keep your feelings to yourself.”
“Don’t be an ass. It’s a simple question. Answer it or don’t.”
They stared at each other, both of them realizing that they teetered on the edge of yet another argument. Ramsey was debating which way he wanted to go when he realized they’d both had enough conflict this week to last them a lifetime. “It’s nothing,” he answered. “Just something from years ago.”
“It’s more than nothing.” Declan put his cup down.
Ramsey hesitated. He’d shared little about his past with anyone other than Leroy. Declan knew about his teenage years, but little else. He leaned back against the kitchen counter, set his cup down, and crossed his arms. “I made some mistakes. I was protecting someone. I got too close. It didn’t end well.”
“You’re a wealth of information.”
“Yeah, well, when it comes to me, that’s an encyclopedia entry.”
“I get that. Who was she?”
Ramsey glowered at him. “You should stop using those extrasensory powers of yours on me.”
“It doesn’t take extrasensory powers to tell there’s a woman involved. What happened?”
Ramsey squirmed and debated whether to talk about it. It was the closest the two of them had ever come to an intimate conversation.
He finally allowed himself to reflect on it all. “It was early on in my role as a Protector. I was assigned to protect a woman who was the daughter of an esteemed Community member who was friends with most of the Council. You know how that goes.”
Declan nodded his head in understanding. In the background, he sensed Leroy’s impending arrival. He shot out a mental request to Leroy to come in through the front quietly, and hoped he was astute enough to pick it up.
“She didn’t really need me,” Ramsey continued, “but her father insisted someone be there for her. His family was of Red-Line descent, which occasionally causes unusual affects during Shifts, so I was assigned. It was a simple job, but it took time, and we got to know each other.”
“And you fell for her?” Declan asked.
“You want me to tell the story, or do you?”
Declan held up his hands as if to say ‘sorry.’ “Please continue,” he said. He realized then that Leroy was entering the front door silently and sent out a mental thank you.
Ramsey sighed. “So anyway, I was still a bit green as a Protector, but I thought I knew everything.”
“Really?” Declan shot an appropriately shocked look at Ramsey.
“Never mind that,” said Ramsey. “We got close and we liked each other, but I knew I had to avoid getting emotionally involved.” He gazed off at a distant point as he focused on the past, remembering events he wished he didn’t. “Once her Shift began, I stayed with her. I guess we thought it was sort of fun, just the two of us. I admit I entertained thoughts of maybe spending more time with her once the job was done.” He smiled softly, but then turned somber again. “Her symptoms were similar to those of the flu. She slept through most of it. I simply kept her comfortable and made sure she had what she needed. By the third day, she was coming out of it, but she suddenly got sicker. As she lay in bed, she started telling me things that had happened to her, what her father had done to her, how she’d been abused by him.” He looked up at Declan, who by now was listening attentively. “Shifts can frequently create emotional distress,” he explained, “and they can cause people to confront events in their life they may have previously ignored or forgotten.” He stopped for a moment.
“Shifts have a funny way of doing that,” Declan added. “You can’t ignore stuck energy for long without having ill effects.”
Ramsey nodded, stuck in his memories. “Problem was, since abuse is so uncommon among our people, I thought she was having a Sensory Shift.”
“A Sensory Shift?” Declan asked.
“A Sensory Shift is a period of extreme sensory activity and perception. It can manifest in various ways. A person can experience extreme light and sound sensitivity as well as detailed and emotional connections to possible past and maybe even future events. Maybe even past-life events. It’s rare, but for a Red-Line descendant, it’s not impossible.”
He paused again, and Declan said nothing, allowing Ramsey to continue at his own pace. “Mia.” Ramsey sighed as if saying her name was painful. “Mia showed all the signs of it. I was disgusted by what I heard and horrified by what she said, but I believed she was only experiencing a Shift delusion or hallucination.” He stopped as the memories flooded him.
“John…”
“Anyway,” Ramsey continued before Declan could finish, “as she came out of her Shift, she withdrew. She refused to see her father. I tried to convince her that what she’d experienced was just the effects of her Shift and that she would improve with time, but she didn’t get better. In fact, she got worse. I worried about her and felt responsible for her, so I invited her to stay with me. I thought I could help her.” He paused again and took another breath. “She stayed about two weeks. But one day, I came home and…” He hesitated, remembering. Declan did not interrupt. Ramsey cleared his throat and continued. “Her father was there with the police. They took her by force. He had some sort of court order. I tried to stop them... They admitted her to a local hospital.”
Declan let the information settle in. “How did he manage that?”
“He had a powerful position and powerful friends. It wasn’t hard. It was then that it finally hit me that what she had experienced was real. That he had, in fact, abused her.”
“And he was afraid she would say something?”
“She had already been talking about it. She was preparing to confront him.” He snorted to himself scornfully. “And here I was trying to convince her she was wrong. That she’d only experienced sensory overload. I had no idea I was helping him instead of her. I was stupid.”
“You didn’t know.”
“But I should have.” Ramsey stood quietly, lost in thought.
“What happened?” asked Declan.
“He kept her there for six months. I tried to see her, but my access to her was denied. Her dad blamed me for her ‘illness,’ as he called it.” Ramsey finally broke from his unfocused gaze. “The Council reassigned me to other cases to keep me away. They didn’t like all the attention the situation was stirring up. I went and did my job, but I always tried to keep up with her, to try and see her. I’d hoped to hear that she’d been released and that I’d be able to help her at some point.”
“She did get released, though, after six months?” Declan asked.
“She was.” Ramsey spoke softly.
Declan waited, but Ramsey didn’t immediately answer. “And?” he asked.
Ramsey felt the pain of remorse and knew Declan could sense his discomfort but he kept going. “I came home from an assignment, planning on heading straight over to see her, but Leroy met me at my door.”
“Leroy? Why?”
“Because...” Ramsey stopped again. “Mia…” he said tautly.
Leroy stepped out from the shadows. “Mia committed suicide when she returned to her father’s. I met Sherlock at his house to give him the news.” He went over to stand next to his friend, who made no reaction to his arrival.
“Suicide?” It was all Declan could think to say. Suicide was extremely rare for Eudorans.
“Unfortunately, yes,” said Leroy. “And he’s convinced himself it’s his fault, no matter what I say.”
Ramsey finally roused himself from his memories and expelled a deep lungful of air as if waking from a nightmarish sleep. He finally acknowledged Leroy’s presence. “When did you sneak in?”
“During your surprising moment of revelation. When’s the last time you told that to anyone?”
“I’ve never told anybody.”
Leroy nodded and glanced at Declan. “I’m glad he finally told you. It’s about time you two acted like brothers.” He spoke to Ramsey. “Feel better?”
Ramsey frowned at him. “Don’t get carried away, Leroy. He asked me about it, and I answered him. Enough said. We’re not achieving world peace here.”
Leroy responded smartly, eager to pull Ramsey from the past. “No, but you’re helping pave the way.”
Ramsey pushed away from the counter, eager to shake off the darkness of the memories. “You read too many philosophy books,” he said. He began to walk out of the kitchen, ready to change the subject.
“Where are you going?” asked Declan, suddenly animated.
Ramsey looked at him oddly, wondering why Declan cared. “To the master bedroom. Is that a problem?”
“So what’s your reaction to the news? I’m surprised you haven’t said anything about it,” said Leroy, smiling and looking at Ramsey as if he expected something from him.
Ramsey furrowed his brow. He was obviously missing something. “News?”
Now Leroy looked confused. “Didn’t he tell you?” he asked, nodding his head toward Declan.
“Tell me what?” asked Ramsey.
Both Ramsey and Leroy turned their attention toward Declan, who had been watching as the two spoke. He shrugged his shoulders.
“What news?” Ramsey asked again with more force.
Declan finally answered. “Sarah came out of her Shift last night.”
Ramsey’s eyes went wide. “She what?” They quickly narrowed again, though. “And you let me go on with that story the whole time while you had that bit of information in your pocket?”
“But I wanted to hear the story,” Declan retorted.
Ramsey didn’t know what to do first, race to the bedroom or strangle Declan. “You wanted to hear the story?” he sputtered.
Leroy sat back against the counter and smiled as he listened to the brothers’ exchange.
“Well, yes,” said Declan. “It was a tender moment.”
“Tender what?” Ramsey couldn’t believe his ears. “You want a tender moment? How about when I cry after I beat you to death.”
Declan hid his amusement. “Why don’t you go see her first, and then we can converse about my untimely demise.”
Ramsey considered that, but he decided not to waste any more time on Declan. “And you, best friend,” he said, directing his angry attention toward Leroy, “wipe that smirk off your face.”
Leroy raised his hands in mock self-defense as Ramsey defiantly turned and headed toward the bedroom.