Blacken

  His forehead touched hers, his hand cusping the side of her face, “Again.”

  “Delahara incu, Delahara incu, Delahara incu, Delahara in—!”

  The woman was interrupted by his kiss, his emotions coming to the forefront, she could feel what he did though the connection. All of the pain, the fear, the relief. All of his desperation and love. Avie was sure he could feel hers too.

  They were two lonely souls in need for the other, despite all odds coming together and finding comfort and love in the other half. Avie was all Rhulle wanted and needed, Rhulle was all Avie had been missing. The two lost and desolate had found a home in each other, intending to stay forever.

  After this, nothing could separate them.

  CHAPTER 22

  An information was handled by Blacken police, keeping Owen in a temporary holding cell at the jail until court proceedings could be set up. Almost as soon as Avie gave the statement to detectives, the criminal complaint was placed and accepted for Owen Zagorski’s arrest.

  Due to the nature of Blacken being such a small town, people began to gossip about the circumstances. Everyone knew of the eccentric librarian who spent all of his time with a certain florist, but to attempt to kill her in cold blood within a few short months? Rumours spread over what happened that allowed such an event to take place.

  “I heard they were secret lovers. She was carrying his baby that he didn’t want, that’s why she was shot in the stomach!”

  “No, no, no, you’re wrong! She had to have been having an affair with another man, getting pregnant with his child instead. Once he found out—boom!”

  “There’s no way, have you met them? He must have planned it ahead of time, he was in her apartment and everything!”

  Everywhere Avie went, she was hounded about what the circumstances were.

  She chose, however, to spend most of her time in her apartment, worried that a gossiper would follow her trudge to the woods where Rhulle resided. After the first initial days, her alarm clock heavily blared this night at three a.m., a time no one else would be awake—she awoke to set off to his place for some time while the hubbub had a chance to wear down.

  The woman triple checked that no one else was watching her, looping around some neighbourhoods before making off to the woods, just to be safe.

  The howling wind blew a crescendo against her frame, it kicked up snow to pelt against exposed skin and between poor stitching of a coral coat. Exhaustion loomed heavy in her eyelids, whispering temptations to turn back and head home, collapse into a warm bed and try again another time… She persisted anyway.

  What had once been a standard twenty-minute walk, turned into an hour affair, leaving Avie frigid to the core, a biting numbness radiating her face with a low dull hiss of a headache beginning to form.

  The door to the manor opened, revealing a confused and concerned truxen inside of its frame.

  “Dear Avie, this is no weather for you to travel in! The fire is going, go sit in front of it at once.”

  “What are you doing awake, Rhulle?” She wore a smile as soon as he appeared, passing through the doorway while sidestepping him as she asked.

  “I could ask the same, and even why you try to traverse in this catastrophe, you will catch a cold.”

  The wooden door was closed after them, having allowed a small amount of the winter inside, melting as the fire burned brightly in its grand case. She sighed at the warmth, feeling as though the frosty cage around her was melting too.

  Doing exactly as he suggested, Avie sat before the blaze, sticking out her hands to warm the pink fingers, “Well that’s simple; I missed you. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to see you for another few days. I’ve always been a risk taker when it came to you,” the woman smiled slyly, happy to hear he cared so much about her to fret over such a small thing in comparison.

  Rhulle sighed through his nose, joining her on the floor beside the fireplace, “I suppose we were on the same wavelength; I had been worried about your absence, I was thinking about coming to see you too. I could not fall asleep until I knew you were alright.”

  “I think you should lay low for a little while,” her head dropped to his shoulder, resting on the upper arm, “it may be a bit before you could come into town, people won’t leave me alone.”

  “Why is that? Everything alright?”

  She looked up into his face, “Owen has been arrested. People want to know what the circumstances were for him to do what he did.”

  “That is good for him to be held accountable, what will happen next with him? Why do the other humans need to know your business?”

  Avie chuckled, “They’re setting up a court date for him to be judged, I will have to explain my half, he will his, then a jury will decide what will happen with him. It may take a few weeks and it’s a big deal for everyone in town, I suppose this has never happened before. People are not sure what to make of it or what even happened, so they make up scenarios on what they think could have occurred. Others need to know as soon as possible and try to get information to clarify. Either way, that’s what the trial is for.”

  “It sounds confusing. Why do the humans feel the need to bother you personally if the information is coming?”

  “It’s just nature, I guess; the need to know. It’s what drew me to find answers about the town, and about you. Some people just run a little harder with their curiosity.”

  Rhulle hummed in thought, “And Owen, he will not be able to interact with you again, correct?”

  “I will only be able to see him in a courtroom full of other people, or behind protective glass in the prison if I needed to. He won’t be able to be around me like he was… ever again.”

  The chestnut truxen lifted her, cradling her in his lap with a gentleness in his embrace.

  “He still hurts you.”

  Avie realized she had started to cry; she wasn’t exactly sure when—her focus was deep into the flickering flames as she spoke. But Rhulle was right. Wiping at the few streaks, she sniffed once.

  “Nobody wants to lose their friend.”

  “Owen lingers in there no longer with his actions; he was not the one who tried to harm you. Just as your father was not a father to you, but a man who murdered Aubree. Owen was not Owen, but a man who tried to murder you that night.”

  Rhulle’s words hit her, blindsiding her with their impact.

  A whole new perspective arose from her as she digested the words, thinking over them again and again. No, Owen did not try to kill her; the sweet fun-loving character she grew attached to didn’t pull the trigger on her. A madman did. The two were distinctly different and it finally clicked for Avie.

  She wasn’t remorseful for her father even though the man raised her, he was viewed only as his change into the abuser underneath. It made sense that Owen mirrored the same viewpoint now with his own change.

  “Oh my stars. You’re right. I-I-I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. Everyone said he was awful for what he did, but I could never see it. I only saw Owen as I knew him. But that wasn’t him that shot me, not even close.”

  “You had the reasoning already there; you may have just needed the push to complete it. I hope it helps you to heal, you deserve it.”

  Laughing into the hiccup, a sense of relief washed through her with the revelation, poignancy hanging heavy in her chest. “I think it will.”

  They stayed there by the fire’s breath, Rhulle became a comfort for Avie, and she to him. All she wanted to do was spend her time here in the manor, it was away from the stressors of everyday life, it was with Rhulle. All she wanted was to be with Rhulle.

  It pained her that she had to live a life in town while he remained dwelling in secret. She couldn’t just disappear and live with him in the decaying abode, yet the thought of having to be living separate from him bothered her. She knew the visits couldn’t last forever, but what would come after? How could they keep together in secret away from everyone when Avie was just…?

&nbs
p; A human.

  They were connected, made for the other, there was no way the pair could be separated now that they came together.

  “Rhulle, I’ve been thinking. Owen was talking about this hideout; I’m worried people will flock here after the trial. You would have to hide more often, that isn’t fair to you. I’m so sorry, I’ve put you in an awful situation.”

  “That is a risk I took on when I chose to come here. The influx is just a speculation, it may not happen, but if it should then I have the whole forest to call home. This is not your doing, Avie. We will figure this out.”

  “I don’t want to have you in hiding,” she spoke, cradling a hand to her cheek, “I don’t think you deserve to, you should have your own home, your own sanctuary that doesn’t have to be intruded whenever someone stumbles upon it.”

  He was ruminating, pausing a beat after the words left her.

  “Then… let us build our own home, far away from here. Inside the border of the forest. We could farm our own food, make our own clothes, be away from society. I was raised in a small colony; I have memorized books on gardening; I have the knowledge to provide us with everything we would need. But that would also mean you would give up the life you know.”

  Avie stared at him, the vision of them inside of a small log cabin floating to the surface of her mind. Just her and Rhulle living off the grid together without worry, without bother. Without everything she had ever known. She had no family, no attachments to the rest of the world, Rhulle was her only constant, the only one she needed to be with.

  “I cannot live without you now, Avie. This was a life I thought I could never return to, I never dreamed of having the ability while I resided here on Earth. But now, with you, we can be together, really together. Living like true vovii do, I would be able to love you every day. I want to love you every day.”

  He held her hand to his face as he pleaded the case, speaking everything she desired. She couldn’t live the same life she had regardless. If there was no Rhulle, the future seemed bleak and dull, he was the colour that whirled in her vision, the light that made her want to start each day. Avie fell in love with the creature in the woods, she was as much his as he was hers.

  Living a life with him, to see him every day, to love him everyday in return—it was all she wanted, all she could think about. She ran with the thought to live together, instead of the alternative of days apart, conflictions constantly keeping them spaced out.

  “All I want is you, all I ever wanted was you. I’ve never been attached to anywhere, but you are my heart, Rhulle, you are my home now. I would love nothing else but to live together. Let’s fucking do it.”

  His face brightened, widening in surprise as if he expected she would say no. Upon hearing the affirmation, glee took over and he laughed softly with a smile; drinking in heavy breaths, tears falling down the pale face and landing into the pink palm.

  “Avie, I-I, I thought my life was over. I was only existing until I met you. I n-never imagined I could be this fortunate, that I had a chance to f-fall in love, and live happily... You changed everything by stumbling into this place. I think I had been calling out for what I needed, I do not know how, but I was. I needed sustenance and I needed someone beside me, to teach me. And this world sent me you. You are all I need, dear Avie. I love you. I love you so much it hurts thinking I could have… I almost… I almost never had this.”

  Her heart panged in her chest, feeling the love he shared for her. Avie never had this before, never had anyone to love her as Rhulle did. She was certain this was new for him as well.

  “I’m going to love you forever,” she whispered, “I’ve never felt like this before, I can’t get enough of you. We were meant to be, Rhulle, plain and simple. There’s no doubt in my mind that this was all supposed to happen. From the moment we first spoke, it felt destined, I don’t know how else to explain it. I just had to be idiotic enough to try to get to know you.”

  “Meant to be… That is a human term, akin to soulmates, correct? I never believed in it when I read about those things. We do not have that belief on Celisc, whatever happens is the result in your own work. But you? Everything that has transpired is too coincidental to just be results of action. I do not know what I did to deserve someone like you, but you were sent to me, supposed to come to me. All I can do is thank the stars above.”

  He led her in for a kiss they shared. Rhulle always was filled with beautiful words, he sung her praise when all she had done was get to know him, falling in love a sequential event to the connection they shared. He explained the stars and sky and colours unseen the same way he spoke of her, she never felt such love. She had never been able to reciprocate in verbatim until she felt the true love he expressed.

  Avie loved him with every fiber of her being, and now she was able to begin a life with Rhulle.

  She also took a moment to silently thank the stars.

  After spending a few days with Rhulle, she returned in the evening to find Detective Arcand and Detective Cooper standing at her door. Seeing her coming to meet them at the residence, they smiled and called out a friendly greeting.

  “Good evening, Miss. Conrad, forgive the lateness of the hour, but we have something important for you,” Det. Arcand handed her the slip of paper, outlining her appearance in court and when to attend.

  Her eyes flicked over the paper, reading the capitalized and bolded words, taking in the information presented for her there. It was straightforward and made perfect sense on what she was supposed to do, but Avie was in the dark about proceeding in a courtroom when she had been a victim.

  “It’s alright, the night is still young... I, umm, wow. I didn’t realize the date would be so soon. I don’t know what I’m really supposed to do.”

  “Just bring that with you, and any copies if you choose to make them. Dress nicely, you will have a victim’s management personnel assigned to you before your first appearance. If you are uncomfortable being in the same room as the accused, make sure to bring that up with them and they can make arrangements before you testify,” Det. Cooper said with a calm grace, as if recited hundreds of times.

  It reassured her, she didn’t mind being in the same room with Owen, that wasn’t the problem. She was, however, worried she couldn’t eloquently express her words in a way that made sense to the judge and jury.

  “Right, thank you, detective. Anything else I should know?”

  “Don’t communicate any details with anyone until the trial has ended, you could be viewed as coming in contempt of court,” the shorter of the pair spoke curtly, Avie imagined that must have happened quite a few times if he needed to drive the obvious point home.

  “Of course. This all helps so much; I appreciate the time.”

  “Ma’am,” Cooper tipped his hat, following his partner as they left the apartment’s hallway.

  The redhead sat on the hard, metallic chair, facing the ballistic glass with the empty seat on the other side.

  Calmly, she waited, finding the security guard’s stare, smiling awkwardly to him. The bright lights in the bleak room turned the atmosphere green with the hue it presented. It mimicked Avie’s twisted stomach, full of nerves and making her queasy with trepidation.

  She was here just for one purpose: to be sure. Just to be sure that Owen was no longer Owen, that she no longer needed to harbour intense guilt over his actions that did not come from the same person met those few months ago. Avie had to be sure.

  The man she waited for dropped into his own seat across her, dark eyes filled with suppressed rage while he demanded all of her attention. Her eyes flicked over to the two-way phone, picking it up and awaiting him to mimic the action.

  He looked, to put it quite simply, terrible. His usual dishevelled appearance increased tenfold, Owen appeared to have lost weight despite his already small size, it may have been the lighting, but his skin looked colourless, gaunt, drowned out by dark shadows swallowing his once bright blue stare.

  Picking up his own
phone with a huff, his shackled hands clinked on the countertop through the receiver.

  “Why are you here?” Owen’s voice was rough, short and ragged. He truly was a shell of his former self in this instance.

  “Court date is set for December fourth, I haven’t seen you since the night you shot me, I figured you might have some remorse for your actions. I wanted to know why you did it.”

  “You’ll get to hear all about everything in court, I’m sure. Are you even allowed to be here?”

  “It’s highly ill advised, but I was hoping something of the real you still remained, that you may be in there, somewhere. You were once my friend, after all.”

  He scoffed, rolling his eyes, “That was over the moment you chose him over me. Are you going to tell them about your little secret? Hmm? About how I was the only one brave enough to step up and do something? First you, then it.”

  “You left something in my apartment after you shot me, I don’t think you would have made it very far with whatever you wanted to do. Besides, I never chose anyone over the other.”

  He breathed heavily, “Liar.”

  Avie was not sure what he meant, exactly. Owen in this state was a different person with different thought processes and she couldn’t read what he was thinking. She opened her mouth and began asking to clarify.

  “I brought you to him with the team we built! You should be dead! He took everyone else, but not you. Why not you? Because you loved him? I could tell you loved me first. He stole you away, he deserves to be killed just for that. You can’t protect him, Avie. You can’t protect your disgusting relationship; everyone will hear about him. Everyone will know soon enough.”

  He still clung onto the concept that he was able to have possession over her, that she was brainwashed into accepting Rhulle as her lover instead of him. His words had been slightly different, it hung in her head as though he was almost angry at himself for being the initial person to guide her into officially meeting the truxen. As if he was to blame for all of it, despite her own choices and his disdain towards them. Was she reading too much into it?