Forever Here

by Harold Wall

  "Pizza delivery," a boy answered. To her, he sounded fifteenish.

  "What are you trying to pull? Did Roselli send you? We didn't order any pizza, punk. Don't think you're gonna come up here and get me with you caliber um thing, I know better. I've

  got a big machine gun up here and I'm not afraid to use it…" She felt a strong arm loop around her waist and was carried so that she was behind James.

  "I don't know what you're talking about…" the boy pleaded.

  "Sorry about that. I have a slightly crazy girl here and she gets a little bit carried away. Big fan of the Godfather movies and then she tries to create a bit of her own mobster

  problems, you know the type. Come on up, we don't have any sort of artillery up here." James pushed the button.

  "Um," the boy answered, his voice squeaking. "Um, right away sir."

  James turned to Poppy. "What?" she asked innocently, looking up at him. Since James didn't have the heart to scold her, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

  She gave a whoop. "I thought they stopped this in the Ice Age," she said, struggling to get out his hold. Poppy gave another little shout when James threw her on the couch next to

  Phil, who only looked slightly interested.

  "Your sister's nothing but trouble, Phil." There was a knock and James went to get the door.

  "You think I haven't learned that already?" Phil called. Poppy crossed her arms across her chest, sunk lower in the couch, and stuck her tongue out at Phil. He calmly gave a cool,

  bored stare until she turned away.

  "Here is half pepperoni and half sausage large pizza," James announced as he came into the living room for a second. He went into the kitchen and returned with three paper

  plates.

  "Can you believe that some people just like cheese?" Phil asked, mouth full.

  "Like who?"

  "Mari ate cheese only pizza," Poppy pointed out. For a moment, James' gray eyes darkened.

  "Really" Phil murmured. He didn't know much about the subject, only that she had earned the trust of virtually everybody in Circle Daybreak and then betrayed them.

  "Oh, well we know how Mari is, fickle. One day she likes cheese, another she likes veggie, one day she's with Circle Daybreak, the next she's with the Night World. Fickle," James

  said lightly.

  "Hey now, that's not fair. I don't think Mari's the type to be wishy washy. I'm sure something important changed her mind."

  "Time to change the subject," Phil said abruptly after a long, quiet moment. Poppy shrugged and continued to devour her pizza slice.

  Phil and James kept up the small talk while Poppy ate and thought. Mari must have had a good reason to leave them, and Poppy respected that. Mari wasn't stupid and she wasn't

  easily persuaded so she must have gone to the Night World on her own free will. But all of that didn't matter to Poppy.

  Poppy thought of Mari as friend. An indifferent, sarcastic friend, but a friend nonetheless. And she always thought of herself as Mari's friend. The event of Dorian's betrayal and then Mari's made Poppy a little sad. Poppy had accepted Mari and Dorian with open arms, which showed how gullible she was. Poppy hoped she wouldn't be so easily fooled in the Final

  Battle.

  December 19, 1999

  On a mountain somewhere in Canada

  Keller silently slipped from under Galen's arm and crept out of bed. After putting on a robe, she tip toed lightly to the living room and started towards the fire place, where the fire

  had long died out, but stopped when she passed the front window.

  Gleaming snow, twinkling as if glitter had been tossed on it, powdered the trees and the neighboring mountains. Pink and purples hues were rising on the east, foretelling the arrival

  the sun, whose heat would be futile in the frozen paradise. Keller leaned further to the window, until her nose pressed against the frost laced window. Her eyes narrowed so that

  she could study the delicate and intricate designs on the glass, hand painted by Jack Frost himself.

  She had no inkling how long she simply stood there, eyes moving from the window to the breath taking view outside the window, because such tranquillity made seconds stretch for

  an eternity. Like tendrils of her warm fuzzy thoughts, arm closed around her from behind, bring her from one comforting thought to another.

  "If you keep crossing your eyes, your face will freeze like that," her husband whispered very softly in her ear, not wanting to disturb the peace. It felt wonderful to think of Galen

  not just as a boyfriend, and a soul mate…he was now her husband. Light as butterfly wings and warmer than the sun or anybody else could be, Keller felt his sweet lips press

  against her hair and then her cheek.

  The cabin, the snow, and the presence of her husband were Keller's definition of heaven. Never before had she ever felt such bliss and contentment, so copious that she would

  forget time and the rest of the world for days at a time. They spent the nights huddled in front of the fire and Keller could barely remember how they spent their days.

  Sadly, it could only last for seven more days. Hearing her thoughts, Galen drew his arms tighter. "Let's not think about that, okay? Look, I built the fire," he whispered. Keller was

  about to turn when she saw a movement in the shadows of the trees.

  "Galen, look over there." Keller made the mistake of turning her head towards him. When she turned back, there was no sign of life at all.

  "Where?" There was a loud knock at the door. Keller pressed the window open and cautiously peeked outside.

  "Hate to crash the newly weds' haven, but this has got to be cut short."

  "Nissa," Galen greeted her at the door. "You're just the bearer of bad news aren't you?"

  "It's written all over her face," Keller mumbled and made herself cozy next to Galen on the rug in front of the crackling fire, their favorite spot. Nissa seated herself on the

  overstuffed love seat in front of them, arms, and legs crossed.

  "Nissa, I'm not in the mood to be mad at you right now, so lose that apologetic face and spill it." Keller never knew she could ever feel this calm, to the point where she didn't get mad when she had every right to be.

  "Hunter is playing fair, you guys know that. But we learned recently that a renegade group isn't. At exactly twelve o'clock p.m. on December thirty first, a massacre will begin on

  the west coast and if they're not stopped, they'll slowly continue on eastward."

  Blunt, was the first thing that came into Galen's mind. The second thought was damn and then a list of other foul words. "As if the Final Battle isn't enough," he sighed.

  "What are their first cities that are planned to attack?" Keller asked, already moving to their rooms to pack her bags. Galen knew he'd have to pack his own bags, Keller wasn't

  happy enough to do that for him. Plus she just converted into mission mode and that wasn't the best time to ask for favors.

  "We could only assume it's largely populated cities. Los Angeles, San Francisco, you know the deal. At least from what we heard from the girl we tortu…questioned. After desperate

  questioning of course," Nissa called.

  "Thank Goddess they're not attacking small towns. It would only take them an hour to wipe the population of Briar Creek."

  December 23, 1999

  Briar Creek, Oregon

  "Make it stop. Just stop," he moaned. Frustrated, he buried his head under the pillow. But the banging just wouldn't go away. Ash sat up and threw his pillow at the door. He then

  realized he was absolutely furious with a rectangular piece of wood and calmed down.

  Ash took as much time as possible and opened the door. "It is eight thirty. EIGHT THIRTY. Nothing is so important that it can't wait till twelve," he said, leaning against the door

  frame.

  Rowan punched him so hard he almost fell back. God, you leave them alone for a while and your sisters becom
e shehulks, he thought sleepily.

  "Ash! Kestrel's gone! And here you are sleeping on your lazy ass when you should be looking for her!" Ash's pale blue eyes widened noticeably. First, Rowan had to be terribly mad

  because she was swearing, and second…Kestrel was gone.

  "She left each of us a letter, good bye letters as if she's already dead! How come I didn't hear her? I should have hear her leave, why didn't I hear her…"

  Ash stopped her pacing and pushed her into a sitting position on his bed. It was a devastating blow to her, possibly losing a sister. Ash understood that losing a member of their

  lethal trio would just paralyze Rowan and melt Jade into a puddle of tears. And although he never admitted it, Ash had somewhat of an emotional attachment to his little sister as

  well.

  "Where did she go?" Ash asked, pulling on a shirt and some jeans. Jade appeared in the door way, cheeks wet, and eyes filled with fresh tears.

  "She went to Las Vegas. She's going to Thierry and then she's going to the Damned Clan Island and then she's going to die!"

  "Wow, thanks, Jade, for your refreshing words of optimism," he growled brusquely as he zipped up his pants.

  "Go after her! Bring her back!" Rowan was yelling at him.

  Being caught between two livid sisters would normally do two things: make him equally hysterical or make him run, as fast as possible. But before he could choose an option, Mary

  Lynette, his soul mate extrordinaire, appeared and handed Jade a box of tissues.

  "He doesn't have to go after her," she told Rowan calmly. Ash gave a sigh of relief. The last attempt to bring Kestrel back to where she didn't want to go wasn't exactly a success.

  His darling Mary Lynette had some genius plan that didn't involve him at all.

  "All he has to do is call Thierry and make him send her back here. You can do that right?" Okay, maybe Mary Lynette wasn't so darling after all. Right now she was just being

  business like, not even giving him a hello. Ash saw a folded up letter in her hand and guess Kestrel had really left a letter for everyone.

  Mary Lynette and his two sisters had him against the wall, literally and figuratively. "I'll try," he promised.

  December 25, 1999

  Washington, in Washington I guess.

  "Delos! Delos wake up!" Delos glanced at the radio clock. Four o'clock was usually considered whisper time in the Neely household. But according to Maggie's terribly loud orders in

  his ear, Christmas morning was a special exception.

  "DEL~" Delos clamped a gentle hand over her mouth while he shrugged on his flannel shirt. He nearly staggered when she dragged him out of the guest room and to the living

  room, where her brother was already shaking the brightly wrapped presents. Jake was lying at his feet, but he wagged his tail and jumped up when he saw Maggie.

  "Where are your parents?" Delos asked, snatching the gift from Miles' hand. It was from him and he didn't want Miles to ruin the surprise.

  "I don't know, I woke them up just before I got you. Guess they must have went back to sleep," Maggie shrugged and went to the master bedroom to waken her parents.

  A few minutes later, Maggie's parents plodded into the living room, extremely tired but happy. Delos supposed they were used to rising at an ungodly hour every December twenty

  fifth.

  "Daddy first," Maggie said, making Miles' a little bit more impatient. Delos watched with a smile as her father received a watch from Maggie, a tie from Miles, and two new shirts

  and a tackle box from his wife, all the while feigning surprise. Then Delos handed him his large, flat present, almost shyly. This time he was truly surprised, Delos was sure

  because he had just bought the present yesterday.

  "Oh, well Del, thank you," he said graciously as he held a chiaroscuro of the Neely family, set in a wooden frame carved by an Arlin witch. Fall leaves, deer, fish, and mountains

  surrounded the penciled picture of the family.

  "Maybe we'll have to add you in someday," Maggie's mother said with a twinkle in her eyes. Delos refused to blush, but he did look away as the family laughed.

  The lady of the house hold was given a new yellow bath robe from Miles, ruby and diamond earrings from her husband, and an oldies cd from Maggie. From Delos, she received an

  antique record needle, for the ancient record player in the basement that she never thought she could play again because she broke the needle as a child. From the wistful gleam in

  her eyes when she spoke of it, Delos knew she wanted to listen and sing along the old records her mother had sung to her. So it would be a perfect gift.

  "Delos this is simply wonderful," Mrs. Neely thanked him. He nodded, unsure of what to say.

  Next was Miles, who quickly ravaged the gift wrap of each gift, not reading who it came from. Maggie gave him a cd, Mr. Neely gave him a stereo system, he received a bottle of

  some expensive cologne from his mother, and Delos gave him new climbing equipment. Everything that Miles had was replaced by Delos' gift.

  "You saved me a year's worth of shopping. Thanks." Delos was glad Miles didn't become too emotional with giving thanks like his parents.

  "And now Maggie," Miles announced. He handed his sister his poorly wrapped present, which was a new CD player and some fuzzy slippers. From her parents, Maggie got a gift

  certificate at a store in the mall and some new shoes.

  "Here…I had Miles wrap it for me," he added, causing everybody to give a laugh. It was heavy, not wrapped at all, but a simple white box. When she opened it she pushed aside the

  thin tissue paper and saw a scroll, made entirely out of silver. Shining gems twinkled at her from the encrusted positions sprinkling the scroll and beside it was a vial of crystal

  clear water. On the glass of the vial were tiny delicate drawings and unfamiliar words, Maggie could only guess what they meant.

  On the silver scroll this was inscribed:

  My Dearest Maggie,

  To the darling girl that saved my life,

  Who showed me her world and welcomed me.

  Who lifted me from hell and gave me heaven,

  I thank the stars for sending me such an angel.

  My darling, if I was to praise you,

  It would take my life time and still I would not list all you virtues.

  And if there were a chance, I would hold you soft and kiss you softer.

  Earth shall become cold and barren if I don't have your warmth and light.

  I shall love you for all eternity, and still I fear that may not be enough.

  Knowing that you share the same heart makes me happier than you'll know.

  I will not treat you like a goddess, not like a queen, but as my equal, forever.

  Nothing, no person or obstacle, would ever keep me from you.

  From your love,

  Delos

  "These quartz, they're from that cave I took you the first day I met you," he whispered, hugging her from behind.

  "Oh, well, Maggie, let your old parents see that," her dad said and she handed them the shining scroll. A few minutes of reading, her mother squealed and squeezed her husband's

  arm. Maggie knew her mother was hearing imaginary wedding bells.

  "And the water?" she asked in a low voice, holding up the vial, which was about the size of her forefinger. Maggie guessed she already knew the answer.

  "From the water in the cave," he nodded. "And these," he said, pointing to the painted lines, "are just little signs of love and magic."

  Before he could continue, Maggie turned around and pressed her lips against his, while her family discreetly left the room.

  December 25, 1999

  Somewhere in California

  "Hey, let's stop at that Wendy's. I have a craving for some frosties."

  "Are you peeking?" Phil asked sharply, making Poppy face the front again.

  "No," she said innocently next to him. James chuckle
d lightly behind them. He hadn't said anything in a while. Maybe because he's tired, Poppy thought. After all it is six thirty.

  "Can I take this off, now?" she whined to her brother, pointing at the red scarf tied tightly around her head, covering her eyes.

  "No, but you will be able soon. If you do, you won't get your Christmas present," he warned her with a smile. As he expected, she smiled back. Phil didn't worry, he knew she would

  close her eyes so that she wouldn't ruin the surprise.

  After about ten minutes or so, Poppy did every annoying thing possible, from clicking her tongue to flicking his ear, until she felt Phil park the car. Now she closed her eyes. Phil's

  hand led her out of the car and they walked for a few minutes, holding hands.

  She thought about how he would do so crossing the street when they were younger, much younger.

  From her other senses, Poppy guessed that she was in some type of woods. The smell of lumber was cool and crisp, and she could hear the faintest noises of forest animals. And

  although she couldn't hear any footsteps, through their bond she could feel James walking behind them. From Phil's firm steps and her own walking, she guessed they were walking

  on a dirt pathway. But then the ground beneath her changed, it felt damp and sunk slightly under her feet. They must have stepped on the grass, into a clearing.

  Phil let go, and since she still had her eyes closed, Poppy felt very alone.

  "Merry Christmas, Poppy," she heard James whisper. He sounded far away, very far. Then arms circled her.

  Normally her reaction would be to jump back, but she froze. Because the embrace felt familiar, and the scent was comforting. All her senses, they were telling her, reminding her.

  It was like reading a long forgotten book. Poppy wrapped her arms around the woman.

  "Mom," she sobbed out in a whisper and laid her head on the warm shoulder. She felt slender, soft hands run through her curly red hair and her mother's arm was squeezing around

  her tightly.

  "Oh, God, Poppy. My little Poppet." Both women were crying. "Oh," her mother gave a shaky laugh. "Get this thing off," she said as she moved to untie it. Then Poppy looked

  straight into her mother's eyes.

  "You look so pretty," she said shyly, feeling like a toddler. Like she was an innocent, wide eyed girl who needed her beautiful, strong mother to protect her from the world.