Ascension Watchers

by Amy Proebstel

  Melissa’s attempt to hold back her tears was unsuccessful, and she rushed forward to hug Willian before he left. With Pesi held in her arms, the little dog was able to get in several licks in farewell at the same time. Both Willian and Melissa laughed at Pesi’s antics, creating the perfect opportunity for him to depart on a fun note.

  Melissa stood at the open doorway, waving until she could no longer see the vehicle.

  “She sure was nice,” Willian lamented, finally turning around once he could no longer see her house. “I’m going to miss that family and Pesi.”

  “What is Pesi?” Debbon asked.

  Riccan and Willian both laughed at his innocent question about the dog before Willian explained the pet to his father, much like he had for his mother earlier in the week.

  “I think I’ll park at this corner so you and Willian can walk there together,” Riccan suggested as he pulled up to the curb and turned off his engine. “I’d rather not be involved with your private matters where the parents are concerned.”

  Willian understood immediately, yet he could see his father did not. “I’ll explain it as we walk, Dad.”

  “I’ll be here when you’re done,” Riccan assured them.

  Debbon grabbed his bag from the floor before joining his son on the sidewalk. They had only walked a few steps before he asked, “What did Riccan mean by that?”

  “Only that Vala’s mother is having trouble accepting the fact that she and her brothers are from Tuala. If Mrs. Wilson ever discovers our true identity, Mr. Stel didn’t want to also be linked to us. He’s trying to protect his family from discovery.”

  “I see…” Debbon said, still processing how this could go once they arrived at Valentina’s house. He knew immediately that his plan to announce the patil would have to be done privately, causing another small issue which he would have to fix once they got inside.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Valentina stomped away from the living room, down the hallway, and into Jon’s room. Not even waiting for him to acknowledge her presence, she announced, “Mom turned Vinia over to Dr. Gascon. We might have some huge problems if Vinia said anything about us to him.”

  Blinking several times in confusion as he processed his sister’s words, he finally asked, “What should we do?”

  “I think we need to gather all of us together to figure this all out.”

  “When?”

  “Right now. If Dr. Gascon is as dangerous as Mrs. Stel believes, then we might already be too late.”

  Jon’s brows furrowed in confusion, and he shook his head lightly. “I don’t understand. What makes you think Dr. Gascon is so dangerous? She never said anything like that to us.”

  “Are you really so dense, Jon? Didn’t you notice how fast the Stel family sprang into action when they found out Vinia was missing? Didn’t you see how tense they all were? It only stands to reason that the doctor was dangerous for them to get so involved.”

  “I don’t know about that, Val. Maybe they just didn’t want anyone finding out about their family living here on Earth. I think you’re overreacting.”

  “I don’t think so. I’m leaving. Are you coming with me?”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it here,” she answered, pointedly shifting her eyes to indicate their mother out in the other room. “Are you coming or not?”

  Jon twisted around at the desk to grab his jacket from the back of the chair before rising slowly. “Yes, I’m coming, but I still say you’re reading too much into everything.”

  “I hope you’re right, but until I know differently, I don’t want to risk anything more.”

  Valentina preceded Jon from his room, giving her a chance to get her purse, keys, and jacket from her bedroom before meeting back up with him in the hallway. Side-by-side, they entered the living room where their mother remained sitting on the couch. “We’ll be back, Mom,” Valentina stated flatly.

  Lifting her face from her hands, Zoey asked in confusion, “Back? Where are you going?”

  “We have to try to fix this mess you’ve created. Also, we’re going to see if we can talk Behn into coming home.”

  Jumping up from the sofa, Zoey realized her anger was driving all of her children straight into Vinia’s arms. If she did not do something immediately, then she stood the risk of losing them all. “You’re not going anywhere without me there with you!”

  With a huff of dismay, Valentina shook her head and answered, “You can’t come where we’re going, Mom.”

  “I don’t see why not.” She crossed her arms defiantly, feeling foolish even as she did so.

  “It’s impossible, Mom. You’d lose your memory if you crossed into the dimension of Tuala. You can’t come.”

  “I don’t believe you!”

  “Well, that wouldn’t be the first time, would it? Look, do you want us to get Behn back home or not?”

  Valentina’s barbed comment struck her heart with a wicked blow. She could see now how her actions had caused a deep rift with her children, making her wish she could start everything over again. If she did not start trusting them more, then she would most likely lose them entirely.

  “Yes, Val, I’m sorry. Please promise me you’ll be careful.” Zoey reached out a hand imploring her daughter to accept her apology.

  “Trust me, Vinia is the least of our worries since you’ve contacted Dr. Gascon. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” Valentina moved past her adoptive mother, not really accepting her belated apology, especially after everything she had said and done up to that point. Just as she stood in the closed front doorway, she called over her shoulder, “Don’t bother waiting up for us. I don’t know what time it’ll be before we can straighten out this huge mess.”

  She opened the door, prepared to charge outside only to be surprised to find Willian and Elder Debbon standing on the porch. “Oh!” she cried out, rocking back on her heels to keep from running into the pair. “I forgot you said you were coming over, Willian. You didn’t say anything about bringing your father.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “MAY WE PLEASE come in?” Willian asked politely.

  Valentina’s mind was clearly divided. She wanted to know what Elder Debbon could possibly be doing on Earth, but she was even more eager to put some distance between herself and her mother.

  “We won’t take long,” Elder Debbon assured her.

  “Sorry, yes, please come in,” Valentina backed up and moved to the side to allow them entrance.

  “Who’s at the door?” Zoey asked from the living room, still not able to see who had arrived. “Is that Willian?”

  “Yes,” Willian answered, coming inside and smiling over at Zoey until he realized something had upset her. “What is it, Mrs. Wilson? What’s wrong?”

  “As if you didn’t know! Behn is missing, and you knew he was leaving!” she accused rudely, her eyes glaring at Willian until another man stepped inside her house causing her eyes to widen in alarm. “Who’re you?”

  “I’m Willian’s father, Debbon,” he answered politely, using elemy to get the feeling of the room’s tension and beginning to diffuse her anger as he spoke.

  “I’d say I was pleased to meet you, but right now, I’m not feeling very gracious toward your son. Do you know what he’s done?”

  “No, would you care to enlighten me?”

  “He knew Behn was going to run away to be with this crazy woman named Vinia. He knew, and he didn’t think we should know about it until after Behn was already gone. Who knows where my son is now and your son had the power to prevent all of this had he just said something, anything!”

  “I’m really sorry, Mrs. Wilson. I had no idea this is what would happen.” He looked at her beseechingly, also feeling his father’s soothing elemy and hoping it would work on the woman swiftly.

  “No, Willian, it’s me who should be sorry. I had no right to speak to you so rudely. I just need some time to process this and figure out what I’m going to do
about it.” She stood up from the couch and said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go call Oliver.” She rushed from the living room.

  “I thought she’d never leave,” Valentina spoke into the silence which had descended upon the room. She turned back to face Elder Debbon and asked, “When did you get here?”

  “Just a little bit ago. I came to bring Willian home.”

  “What?” Valentina’s eyes grew huge with her disbelief and hurt. “Did you know about this?”

  Feeling ashamed at keeping this from her, he could see he had been misguided in not telling her sooner. Of course, this was probably the worst timing ever for seemingly abandoning her during her time of need. Deciding to put the blame where it was due, he answered, “Yes. Father arranged for me to go to Telae to learn how their District is run. Mother came earlier this week and warned me it was happening.”

  “You knew all week, and yet you didn’t think I’d want to know?” Valentina crossed her arms, feeling her dismay rapidly crossing over to rage.

  “I didn’t want to make you sad.”

  “Instead, you’d rather have me angry?”

  “Well, to be honest, I didn’t think it all the way through, I guess.”

  “Oh, you think?” She flung her hands up in the air dramatically before throwing herself down onto the couch, exclaiming, “Men!”

  “While we have a moment to ourselves,” Debbon interjected, catching everyone’s attention. He held up his bag and said, “I brought you a portable patil so you could keep in contact with Willian or Vinia. Of course, if you’d rather not have it here, I could always take it back with me.” He understood that a person would rapidly change their mind on a subject if they thought they might miss out on an opportunity. His instincts proved correct as he could see Valentina’s mood change instantly.

  Jumping up from the couch, she spoke urgently, “Let’s go to my room and you can show me how it works. Mom would be furious if she knew about this, but if I could just reach Behn, then I might be able to get this whole mess sorted out.”

  Willian kept his expression neutral even though Valentina’s statements hurt him. He had immediately been thrilled with his father’s solution for him keeping in contact with his future wife, but Valentina had only heard the part about reaching her mother’s patil through the computer.

  Debbon gave Valentina and Jon a quick tutorial on how the system operated, then he taught them the proper crystal skill to disguise the device when it was not in use. Since the patil’s size was equivalent to one of her school books, Debbon had opted for a mask to make the patil look like one of her chemistry texts. Satisfied with this result, he looked at his time piece, declaring, “It’s time for us to get going, Willian. I’ll give you some privacy to say goodbye, but don’t take too long about it.” He winked as he passed his son to wait for him in the living room.

  Jon walked out beside Debbon. Having never met Willian’s father before, he still did not quite know what to make of him. According to Valentina’s descriptions, he had been both scary and nice at the same time. He glanced over at him surreptitiously, deciding he could understand both descriptions readily enough. He looked around to make certain his mother would not overhear their conversation before saying, “Thank you for the patil and for programming in the people we’d want to reach.”

  “I thought it might help smooth things over.” He looked at his time piece again, hoping Willian would be quicker about his farewell.

  “Valentina said you were a really good teacher. Thank you for showing her and helping Gevena as well.” Jon knew his comments were sounding lame, yet he did not know what else to say to the man standing so stoically in his living room.

  Debbon’s eyes lit up, his finger snapping at the same time, “I knew I was forgetting something! I’ll be right back!”

  He rushed down the hall to Valentina’s room and entered without knocking. He certainly did not expect to see his son and Valentina kissing passionately while holding one another with full-body contact. Taken aback, he cleared his throat to get their attention. As if he had cracked a whip, the couple shot apart, both embarrassed at being caught once again in a compromising position. Deciding to ignore the situation in favor of saving time he did not have to waste, he said, “I’d like to continue training you with your crystal skills, Valentina. It’d be my honor if you’d be willing?”

  Feeling as though her cheeks were still on fire, Valentina stammered uncharacteristically, “The honor would be all mine. Please let me know when and I’ll do my best to be there.”

  “Good, I’m glad we got that settled. Willian, if you don’t mind, we must be going.” Debbon turned and left them alone again, knowing Willian knew better than to keep him waiting too much longer; after all, they did have a schedule to keep.

  Willian grabbed Valentina’s hand one more time, relishing in the electricity flowing between them, attempting to memorize every detail about her until they could see one another again. “I’ll call you as often as I can.”

  “I’m still mad at you,” she answered, hurriedly kissing him on the cheek, knowing she would forgive him. “Come on, let’s not keep your father waiting.” She used his hand to drag him from her room. Her mind reeled with all of the unsettling things happening at once. She needed to get some things sorted before she could tackle anything.

  Seeing the door close behind Willian and his father somehow made his departure seem more real, she suddenly realized she would not have daily contact with Willian, would not feel his energy. She was afraid for a future without him, yet she was just as frightened of what would happen if she chose to go after him. In a way, she felt grateful for the opportunity to sort out her feelings for Willian without the constant pull on her inner self to be with him because her body had no other option. This separation would be a good thing.

  Behn, on the other hand, was a different matter entirely. She still could not believe he would simply pack his things and take off, leaving her and Jon to explain it all to their parents. He should have known this would make their mom go ballistic, yet he only thought of himself. She could feel the righteous anger building within her without an outlet.

  “Where’s Willian and his father,” Zoey asked, walking in from the kitchen.

  “They left. Are you happy now? You’ve managed to drive everyone out of our lives!” Valentina exploded, her mother had become the convenient outlet for her rage. As she had attempted before, she picked up her things and stomped to the front door with Jon tagging along, trying to get her to stay.

  She let the door slam behind her with a satisfying whack. Jon strode beside her, silent but concerned. She knew he disapproved, he always took their mother’s side of things. “What?” she demanded as he kept his own counsel.

  “I didn’t say anything!” he replied, hands raised as if to surrender to her demand.

  “You didn’t have to, just the look on your face says it all. Why don’t you spit it out so you won’t have to brood over it for the rest of the evening?”

  “I just think you were too hard on her. Couldn’t you see how sorry she was?”

  “Jon, she’s only sorry because she got caught. Don’t you realize her idea of helping us might just cause all of us to have to relocate to Tuala just to keep safe from being investigated? Not to mention what Vinia might have been forced to talk about while she was being held against her will. I’m sorry, Jon, but Mom isn’t off the hook that easy in my mind.”

  “She was only concerned for our safety, Val.” Jon turned his head as he spoke quietly. He could see Valentina’s point, but he still loved his adoptive mother.

  “Not exactly, Jon. Her main concern was losing us to Vinia. Unfortunately, her actions might end up causing that very thing to happen.”

  “Let’s not jump to any conclusions.”

  They had reached Valentina’s car, which had been parked in front of the house along the sidewalk. Without even realizing they did so, both siblings looked up and down the street to see if anyone ha
d been monitoring their movement. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, Jon yanked his door open and paused while looking over the roof of the car toward his sister. “Where are we going anyway?”

  “You’ll see. I don’t trust even talking out loud anymore. Get in.” She unlocked the driver’s side and dropped down into the seat. After gunning the motor, they raced through the neighborhood, turned at the corner after only barely slowing down, and navigated their way to the main road leading out of town.

  Eagerly watching their direction, Jon nodded and said, “I think I know. What are you going to say when you get there?”

  “I don’t know yet. Let me think about it, okay?”

  “Sure.” Jon only stared at his sister intently for another second before turning toward the view out the front window. For his sister to be this worried started to make him feel nervous. Valentina was not one for being overly dramatic or to blow things out of proportion. His sister suddenly turned at the next intersection, tires squealing as they went. “Hey, Val! What gives? Is someone following us?” He looked behind them at the same time just to check for himself.

  “What? No. Change of plans,” she answered, but refrained from elaborating further. His unexpected question did, however, cause her to check the rearview mirror several times just to make sure. After a couple more turns, Valentina pulled to the side of the road as she realized her plans to go to Willian’s house were futile. Her mind had automatically put her on course to be with the one person she instinctively trusted to keep them safe, yet he had just left Earth, and she was on her own just when she needed him the most.

  Sighing with frustration, she rapidly regrouped her thoughts. She glanced into her rearview mirror just to see if anyone else stopped or did anything unusual behind her. Ignoring Jon’s pointed looks, she pulled back into the flow of traffic and returned her attention to the road ahead as they started to get to a more congested area of town before they would turn off and head into the remote suburbs.