by K.N. Lee
He opened it. The article was brief:
Local Couple Identified as Victims of Fiery Car Crash
Paul Ryder, 45, of Abilene, Texas, and his wife Lenora Rubidoux Ryder, 39, of New Orleans, Louisiana, were identified Tuesday as the victims of a fiery crash on State Highway 213, near Lipscomb. The bodies were burned beyond recognition and were identified through dental records Monday.
The couple, who were residents of Hallsdale, Texas, were traveling east on SH213 when they were hit by another vehicle, sending their minivan into a divider rail sometime after 2:30 AM on the morning of March 15th. The second vehicle has not yet been found. Police in the area have alerted car dealerships and repair shops to be on the look-out for a black van with severe front end damage. Police believe the vehicle that hit the Ryders was speeding at above eighty miles an hour at the time of impact.
Paul Ryder owned a successful construction company based the Dallas area. Lenora was a teacher at Hallsdale Elementary, where she taught fourth grade. The Ryders leave behind three children: Scott, age 17, Marradith, 9, and Daniel, 4.
Rafael sighed. He wondered if Leighton had been behind it. It was an easy way to get all three children into his custody at once. Scott was seventeen when this all happened, and a headstrong kid no doubt. He was probably out of Leighton’s house as soon as he turned eighteen. The fact that Scott was able to take Danny without Leighton fighting him on it was interesting. It probably worked as a convenience for him, that way he didn’t have to worry about raising such a small child or putting up with a stubborn teenage boy. Not when his true interest lay with Marradith, anyway.
Rafael searched through the emails. If there were communications with Granthem, he did not find any. When he saw the name Rubidoux, he clicked on it. The message was old. It dated back five years. Around the time Marradith would have turned eighteen.
Hi Marradith,
This is your Uncle Jake. I know that you haven’t written me back before, but I am not giving up on you, sweetheart. You’re like your Mama, so I expect you to be stubborn. I can take it. You are going to be a legal adult soon, and I want you to know, if you want to come out here you’re welcome. We live on the family property here that was passed down from Miss Luella. My wife and I have three sons and two daughters. Scott and Danny have been living with us and they seem to like it a lot. I think a Texan girl would appreciate a desert town like Lazarus. Well, I should say Danny still lives with us. Scott has his own place a couple blocks away from us, but he comes to visit all the time. I know how you feel about Leighton, but it’s not your job to take care of him. I never met the man but I know that he and your Father did not get along. I knew Paul well, and I can only assume he had good reasons for not trusting his Grandfather. You have other family out here you haven’t met as well, the Drake side. Jennifer is the same age as you are. I am here if you need to talk. Call, or write me. I don’t want you to think your Mother’s people have forgotten you.
Love Always,
Jake
Perhaps Marradith didn’t write Jake back, but interesting that she kept the message all this time.
She must realize that she can’t go there. It’s the first place he’d look. And what would Leighton do to her family if she did? He’d send his Wolves to descend upon her family, her brothers, uncle, cousins…
Rafael tapped his finger against the keyboard, thinking. So few things remained the same as they did where he came from.
Adam Sarus was a destroyer of things. Worlds. People. It didn’t matter as long as he left chaos in his wake. If Rafael wanted to get home, the answer had something to do with foiling Adam’s plans. So what was left here that Adam wanted to destroy, that existed in the much same way as it had in the life that Rafael came from?
The answer came to him.
Granthem.
Justin pulled Marradith with him into a deeper part of the forest. He was familiar enough with this terrain that he could almost walk through it blind. Once Leighton made him a Wolf, Justin left the Islands and went to live in Spain. It wasn’t until many years later that Leighton invited him to come live amongst his pack brothers on this property. He’d hunted on these grounds. Made kills from humans that had lost their way. Enjoyed their flesh and the heat that coursed through his body as their blood infused it.
When he grew bored, Justin left again, moving from continent to continent. He returned home on Leighton’s urging a few years ago, offering him a small house and a large sum of money to settle in a few miles from him. They had never been friendly, but the blood was there, a pull that made Leighton want his son near him.
It wasn’t until that last return home that Justin met Marradith. She was a scrawny thing at the time. Sixteen. Big eyes and curly, long hair. She wore too many layers of clothing for her small frame, swimming in fabric. Too young for him. He knew that she hungered for affection. It was in her eyes when he looked at her. He tried to stay away. He did. His pulse raced when their eyes met. He felt shy and fumbling around her. Justin thought anyone that saw them together would know how badly he wanted her. It felt like a sin to want her, because he knew the reality of her situation. She was vulnerable. She was still grieving. And if he went along with what they both desired, he was afraid she would look back one day and regret it. Their attraction went on that way for years, each of them teasing and then pulling back, neither of them getting the satisfaction from each other they wanted, until she turned nineteen.
One day, Marradith showed up at his house. She’d walked there in the rain. Standing before his fireplace, without speaking, she peeled away the layers of her clothing, until there was nothing left. She stared at him, never letting her eyes leave his face. When he moved towards her, she caressed his face with her palm. She was beautiful. There was no resisting after that. He made love with her for the first time that night. She was sweet, yielding. He took his time, not wanting to rush what they both had waited for. He felt her shiver as she came, and he whispered her name, holding her tight. Later, in the darkness, she lay with her head on his chest.
“Why did you come to me?” he whispered.
She ran her fingers over his skin absently. “I don’t know,” she said. “I just wanted you. Is that okay? For me to want someone of my own?”
He paused. He’d never heard her speak that way. Even with him, this woman hid her vulnerabilities and he understood that well.
“Yes, it’s okay,” he said, and kissed her. “It’s alright.”
After that, they couldn’t stay away from each other. Sometimes she came to his house. Sometimes he sneaked into hers. It was by mutual agreement that they did not tell Leighton. He never seemed to approve of anything that Justin did, and it was obvious that his involvement with Marradith would not be an exception. As time went on and she got older, Justin became aware of her dalliances with other men. He accepted them as just that; trysts. He had his share of flings as well, but she belonged to him. When he wanted to be satiated she was what he craved, what he came back for. He’d never be sure exactly what it was that drew him to her so strongly, only that he craved her in a way he couldn’t shake. It just was.
“Are we going to run all day, or are you going to tell me which one you might not be able to beat?” Marradith said. The growth was so thick here that the canopy of trees obscured the sun.
“Kieran,” Justin said. “He’s the most serious competition. I am one of the oldest of the Pack, but he’s almost as old as I am. He’s from Kitanya as well.”
“Did you know him before he was turned?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, Justin, what did you do to him?”
“Why do you assume it’s me that I had to do something…?”
Marradith cut her eyes at him. “Because he has a beef. I saw the way he looked when you came in the door this morning. So what is it?”
“That was a long time ago, baby.”
“Who are you kidding? I know how your kind are. What did you do to him?”
“If you must
know. I took his girlfriend from him.”
“Oh. That’s great. Was she only his girlfriend or something more?”
“Well how the hell should I know…?”
“I do hope you mean took in the sexual sense.”
“No. I killed her, but I didn’t know who she was at the time.”
“Great. So he has good reason to want you dead. What about the others?”
Justin sighed. “Well you know what Bruce’s problem is.”
“What about Vega?”
“He’s the youngest of the Pack. He has to challenge me, or be thought of as the scrub of the group.”
“Okay. That sounds like junior high.”
“Sorry to tell you. Wolves don’t progress much past those years.”
“You don’t say?” she drawled sarcastically. “I didn’t recognize most of these Wolves. Am I right to assume Leighton assembled a bunch of the ones that don’t like you?”
“Well none of them will like me. It’s the whole point.”
“I can’t believe you’re joking about this.”
“I’m not, really. But I know the odds aren’t great.”
“Then why are you doing it? I can’t leave here, but you can.”
He touched her face. “You know why.”
She kissed the inside of his palm.
“What is your plan?” he asked.
“I have something, but I can’t tell you yet,” she said. “The only thing I can ask is that you trust me. I want you to be as surprised as everyone else.”
“Why do I have the feeling I won’t like this?” Justin asked.
“Because, you won’t.”
Part II
Marradith went back to Ryder House. The hunt would be tonight, and as much as she’d have liked to go with Justin back to his place, she knew Fiona and Leighton would eventually start wondering where she’d disappeared to. She had to dress for the ritual, which would mean she needed at least an hour to get ready.
Rafael was waiting when she got home.
“It’s time Uncle Rafi has a talk with you,” he said. He grabbed her by the arm and took her into the library. Locking the door behind them, he sat down in front of her laptop.
“Why do you have my computer? What’s this about?”
“Calm down. Don’t look like that. I’m not going to hurt you. Come look at this.”
Sighing, she walked over to the desk and sat down beside him.
There was a photo on the screen, an old one that she had downloaded and saved. A family trip to Arizona. Eight year old Marradith had her arms wrapped around Rafael’s neck, smiling. Her father was at Rafael’s left, with her mother and brother smiling alongside them. They were at the Grand Canyon.
“You remember this?”
“Yes,” she said. “The last family trip that we had before the accident. You met us in Arizona to talk business with Dad, but you ended up tagging along on the rest of the vacation with us. You hadn’t been around in a while. I guess you’re going to tell me that you don’t remember that, either?”
“And these pictures,” he clicked through her album.
“You mean, your house in Costa Rica? We lived down there for a few years. We were your next door neighbors. It’s where you and my parents went to live after Dad dropped out of the Sojourners. We were in hiding. And eventually, when Dad thought it was safe, that enough time had passed, we moved back up to the States. I guess it was never really safe. Rafi, what’s wrong with you? Don’t tell me that story about you falling and hitting your head again…”
“I’ll tell you the truth. But first, another question. You said that your parents, and I, were in hiding. From whom?”
“The Sojourners turned on my Dad. They said it was his fault that a mission he was sent on went bad. You were his superior, but when you refused to have him reprimanded for it you were forced to resign. It was a serious thing---reprimand would have meant execution.”
“I’d been working for The Circle by the time I met up with your parents on your vacation in Arizona?”
“I don’t know how long you’d been working for them, but yes, you were. From what I remember my Father saying, you had been for a few years. And you wanted to talk to him about joining as well. Oddly enough, I think his biggest problem with it was having to come into contact with Leighton. My mother was Circle to begin with, and she was all for going back to it.”
“Marradith. This is going to sound crazy to you. But that’s not my life as I know it.”
“What…..?”
“Listen. When you were little, how much were you taught about the religious beliefs of Others?”
“What are you getting at?” Marradith said.
“There is a story. About time. And dimensions.”
“You mean, something to do with the moon goddess myth?”
“Not the myth of the goddess. The myth of the destroyer.”
“You’re going to have to do a better job of explaining this to me,” Marradith said. “Because I think that I have an idea what you’re getting at, but it sounds crazy.”
“Tell me what you know about the destroyer.”
“Well, if we’re talking about legends,” Marradith said, “I remember what you taught me. The destroyer moves unbound to any one time, or dimension. He tries to change things from the way they are destined to be. Influencing minds. Giving people the little shove to do wrong things. Sometimes, he interferes by bargaining with people.”
“And what does he bargain for, Marradith?”
“Souls.”
Rafael sat very still.
“What happens when the destroyer bargains for a soul?” he asked.
“An agreement is made. The destroyer gives the person some tasks that he wants done. And, after a time, he comes back to collect their soul. They die.”
“Or they exist for time, in another dimension,” Rafael replied.
“You’re serious?”
“Look, I know how it sounds. But these are beliefs that have been passed down for centuries. I know what happened to me.”
“So you’re saying that you’re from another time? And that you’re stuck here?”
“I made a bargain with a destroyer. I willed him my soul. It’s been centuries. There have been times when even I wondered if it really happened. But he sent someone to collect; he threatened my wife if I didn’t obey.”
“Why did you offer your soul to begin with?”
“I’m a warlock, and in those days, what you got for that was being burned at the stake. My entire coven was already gone, and they were coming for me. So I made a deal. And I asked for the chance to do vengeance. That was centuries ago.”
“So, this destroyer only decided to…collect, recently?”
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m serious. He sent a minion to collect my soul…just before I woke up here.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. So why are you here? Why didn’t you just die?”
“I have been doing a lot of thinking about that. I have done a lot of things in my life. Some good. Some bad. This world ---it’s an undoing of any good thing that I did in my other life. One thing remains true here, as it does in the time that I come from. You and Granthem are still in love with each other.”
“You’re saying that’s how you knew about us?” Marradith said.
“Back home, you’re married to him. And quite happy together.”
He saw a satisfied little smile flash across her face, before she sobered and looked at him again.
“You may think I’m insane,” Rafael continued. “But this is the thing that makes sense to me. The one thing, that it seems Adam,” he paused, shivering as he said the name, “the one thing that he did not seem able to change is that you and Granthem met. Your parents met through me. And Paul already knew Granthem. Here, you met him through Leighton. It seems that you two were meant to meet, regardless as to how it happened. I think Adam put me here, hoping that I’d sit by and watch Granthem get himself killed, or maybe, even contri
bute to it.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“Let me help you with Justin. You do need all the help you can get.”
“What if that’s what Adam---this destroyer---wants?”
“He doesn’t want me meddling,” Rafael replied. “But it is one of the few things he can’t control.”
She looked at him. Leaning forward, she touched his forehead.
“Oh my God.”
“What is it?”
She drew back. “Your scar is missing.”
“Scar?”
“Yes. I hit you in the head with a rock when I was five. I was just playing, but it left a scar,” she touched his skin with her fingertip. “Right there. It was little, and your hair covered most of it.” She grabbed the laptop, and clicked through more pictures. “See?”
She had to enlarge the picture for him to see it, but it was there, in the photo where her arms were around his neck: a small white crescent shaped mark that ended at the edge of his hairline, on the left side of his forehead.
“Let me help you,” Rafael insisted.
“Will helping me get you back home?”
“Maybe,” he said. “Either way, it’s worth a shot.”
Later that afternoon, a black limousine rolled onto Leighton’s property, followed by three unmarked, black vans. A man stepped out of the limo, straightening his tie. With gloved hands, he reached into his pocket and drew out a cigarette. Sniffing the cool air, he smiled. His long white hair was pulled back in a ponytail. “The men are here,” he said with a grin.
“Syd,” Leighton came out of the house, his arms extended to his old friend. “I called you on your cell. Why didn’t you answer?”