by Dena Nicotra
I raised my eyebrows at this. “That’s not entirely true and you know it Kess. What’s the one thing that you’ve always told me? Oh yes…the consequences. So what are you not telling me?”
Kess averted my eyes and looked down at the floor.
“Tell me,” I demanded.
“All right, but you should know that the consequences are mine, and it’s already done.” He took a deep breath and then blew it out in a huff. “I told you that I robbed from the sands of time. What I haven’t told you is that the process of doing that increases my darker traits.”
“Does that mean that you’re going to become a full dark weaver eventually, are you changing into one now?” I asked searching his face for some sort of sign that would tell me. Like the mark of the beast or some evidence of horns sprouting out on his forehead.
“No love, it just means I’ll have to fight those urges harder. I told you, the consequences are mine and I can handle that. Not many could dip into those baskets without either facing penalties from the council – including being stripped of their powers, or falling into shear madness from the conversion to the darker threads. I had Digger’s permission and since he’s the last living council member I can’t be penalized and I’m still sane so…no harm no foul.” He concluded with a shrug.
I held out my hand and waited. Kess reached into his pocket and handed me the small vile. “I just have to swallow it right?”
“Not yet,” Kess said. “Peter, you will need to concentrate on what you are about to do like it’s the most important weave you’ve ever done. I know you haven’t had much in the way of mentorship, but if you follow my instructions this will be as easy as pie. Is there any weaves you want to do before you do this?”
“No man. I’m done with this and she can have it. I just want to make my music.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to maybe set up a career first?”
“You’re joking right? I never used my ability for my music before, and I’m not going to start now. The only other thing I would want to do is get even with my ex-girlfriend, but I’m going to leave that to you two.” He said with an evil grin.
“Wait!” Pepper said urgently. “Don’t you think that we could weave a place to stay out here at least? I mean…Marty doesn’t make much and neither do I, and you’ll need a job and a place, and a car at least,”
“I’ve already handled all of that Pep,” Kess said with a smirk and tossed her a key ring. “You live down the road in that white house that sits on the corner, and Peter you’ve got a place, just tell me where and I’ll make it happen.”
“I love you sis, but I don’t want to live by the beach. I’d rather be in the city – maybe someplace near Pasadena. There’s some cool neighborhoods over there and I like that Craftsman style.”
“You want to handle that or would you like me to?” Kess asked casually.
“I got this. He closed his eyes and then opened them, but then said “Wait a second, forgot something,” and closed them again. We all waited silently and then he opened his eyes again. “Okay, I’m good. Let’s do this.”
We followed Kessler’s instructions and the exchange was completed. I was now a fully restored master weaver, and Peter and Pepper were completely normal mortals. Kess told Pepper that Marty was now the owner of a club a few blocks away called No Strings which made us all laugh. There would be no more threads for either of them but they would be happy, and that was all that mattered.
Kess and I exchanged hugs with both of them, Kess put some weaves around them to help keep them protected from dark weavers until we resolved things, and then I weaved them both to the club so that they could meet up with Marty. I even planted the memories that were necessary to keep the confusion down for Marty. He’d been through enough and I wanted to make it as smooth as I could for all of them. It seemed that their lives were finally going the way that they wanted them to. I had a glimpse of Marty proposing to Pepper, and I knew that a music career was in their future. It was nice to have my abilities back. Now I was ready to fight my battles and face the demons.
“Okay, so what’s our game plan babe?” I asked, anxious to get moving.
“Well, the first thing I want to do is going to be a little scary for you, so I want you to hear me out before you object okay?”
“I trust you,” I said.
We stood silently for a moment. His hands rested the small of my back and mine were curled around his neck. I could feel the warmth of his stomach on my own as he pressed me closer. He began to rock me gently and we swayed together in the stillness of the moment. His eyes were dark and glassy…and I allowed myself to be swallowed in their depth as they turned completely black. A sensation of deep heat spread through me starting in my toes and then burning like hot embers up my body. When it reached my head, I grit my teeth. Somewhere in the depths of my consciousness, I understood what he’d just done.
Kess released me, his breath coming in short gasps like he’s just ran a marathon. I raised my head slowly. Starring up at the ceiling, I drew in several deep breaths of my own. The newness of the sensations coursing through my mind made me almost insane with desire. One thought threatened to rip me apart…revenge.
“Look at me! Kess demanded.” I was still gritting my teeth, but I forced myself to meet his gaze. A guttural sound escaped my throat, and I had to command myself to focus.
“You can control it Joey. Concentrate!”
“NOOOOOOOO!” I growled, and looked away, but he turned my chin to make me look at him.
“Yes. Yes, you can. Focus on my voice.”
My vision was wavy and it was difficult to stand still. Kess placed one hand on either side of my head and bent his forehead to mine. I could hear the erratic beating of my heart, and the steady pace of his. Then ever so slowly, they began to synchronize. He began to press images into my mind of my mamaw, my papaw, my sister, and my parents. Then he pressed images of us together when we were little. Slowly the heat began to dissipate, and I felt a calmness return to my mind. It spread gradually through me and my vision cleared.
“Do you understand now?”
“Yes,” I said in a gravelly voice. “You’ve shared…your dark traits.”
“Only a small portion love. It’s just enough to help you understand what we are about to fight. And it’s enough to arm you with the weapons you will need.” He tugged my chin up and kissed me gently. “I’ll take it back when this is all over.”
“I’m okay now. I’ve got this.” I felt the release of empathy that had always kept me restrained, and I knew that I was wired differently now. Mercy wouldn’t be an option. The corner of Kessler’s mouth twitched. That’s my girl. Now you’re getting it, he said mentally. I removed his hat, threw it on the couch, and put one hand on the back of his head so that I could pull it to my lips. I kissed him intensely, and then I drew back and looked deep into those brown eyes that I loved. When this was over I wanted lots of alone time with him because I had some wicked thoughts running through my head that seriously threatened to distract me. Kess bit his lip and raised his eyebrows in surprise so I knew he was tuned in to me. I got a grip and spoke to his mind. Let’s go.
I hadn’t realized that I’d changed my outfit while I was kissing him until Kess blew out a low whistle, and muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Apparently, some dark subconscious idea converted my clothing into a solid black ensemble that he genuinely approved of.
We held hands and weaved to the backside of my family property near the tree line surrounding the bayou. It was sometime after midnight, and it had recently rained. The pungency of wet dirt and grass mingled with the sounds of insects and I reveled in the familiar sounds of home. This was my turf and that meant I had an advantage. A thick layer of fog blanketed the fields surrounding the house in the distance obscuring our view. There are dark threads here. Kess whispered to me mentally, and I felt an immediate sensation of anger. My family did not deserve to be exposed to this and if any harm came t
o them I would take my reckoning out of their hides. Control it Jo, Kess cautioned. I had to grit my teeth to get it together. It’s amazing how intense emotions are with a little darkness in you.
I could see the familiar glow of our porch light from where we stood, but little se. Kess pointed to the house and then twirled his index finger in a helicopter motion. I knew without words that he meant for me to weave to the house with him. This was it. If Kalan and Railey were anywhere near, they would know we were too.
I focused on the porch, and arrived there simultaneously with Kess right at my side. I could see that a light was on inside through the window, but the curtains were closed. Slowly, Kess said. I nodded, pulling the screen door before placing my hand on the knob to the main door. I immediately felt Kalan’s presence, and knew he was inside. I turned to Kess and could tell from his expression that he sensed it too. I opened the door quickly and stepped inside. I saw the look in my momma’s eyes when she saw me, an expression of fleeting confusion registered on her face. Kalan was sitting very comfortably in a chair, a glass of iced tea in his hand. Railey sat beside him, her hands folded primly in her lap. Kess let out a slow hiss before protectively pushing me behind him.
“So nice to see you again brother,” Railey quipped.
My daddy was seated in his favorite recliner, his hair a tousled mess. This simple observation put me on high alert because my daddy fussed over his hair and it never, ever looked like that. My sister sat on the floor at his feet, and my mamaw and papaw were bunched on the sofa next to momma. They all looked like they’d been hypnotized, or were in some sort of a trance. I did a quick scan of their thoughts and discovered that none of them realized what was going on. Their minds were as blank as if they were asleep in their beds and dreaming. The horror of seeing my family like that made me want to fly across the room and shred them both into infinite, little bitty pieces, with my bare hands but Kess squelched that with a calm hand on my shoulder.
“Wish I could say the same for you Railey. See, the trouble is this: nothing about you has ever been nice.”
“Now that’s a pity Kess because I haven’t even started getting mean yet.”
“Neither have I,” Kess said in a steady voice.
My eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, Kalan and my family. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen first since the weavers in the room (myself included) were blocking heavily. Kalan gave me a very smug smile and then he actually licked Railey’s cheek. I felt my gag reflex kicking in. What a pig!
“Well Joey, your family is pathetically hospitable, but someone needs to do something about this hovel they call a home. I’m really surprised at you. Considering all of my family inheritance was at your disposal and you couldn’t even weave them a better house!
“Why Kalan, that’s not polite!” Railey said, mocking my accent in an overly syrupy voice. “You know she likes her white trash little shack, and her hillbilly little family. I mean just look at her redneck papaw over there, and her sorry little mamaw, she used your family gift to save them and that’s ever more important than the viable uses you would have found for the powers of a master weaver.”
Okay, you could have seen steam coming out of my ears after those words. I could feel Kess’ hand on my shoulder, his grip firming slightly. He knew I was about to explode.
“I’m going to warn you Railey, I wouldn’t push her.” Kess was trying to prevent the unpreventable. This wasn’t something any weaver could undo. I was going to knock the ever-loving shit out of his sister, and when I was done, I’d do it again just for giggles.
“Would anyone else like a glass of sweet tea?” My mother asked in a monotone voice.
“No, Mrs. Akers, we’re fine. Thank you for your hospitality,” Kess said. I had to admire the composure he had under the circumstances and it had a reassuring influence on me. Kess was cool no matter what he was dealing with.
My momma smiled at him, and I felt my blood boiling. To see her like this — to see my entire family sitting there like meek, blind lambs made me furious.
“How dare you Kalan! It’s bad enough that you used me, but to come here to my family home, and to bring that sorry piece of crap with you? Seriously, how dare you?” I said in a hushed tone.
“How dare I? You could have avoided all of this, but you chose to be selfish. And look at you! Your greed is as deep as mine!”
“My greed?”
“Well, you’ve obviously done something because you’re a weaver again.”
“You bet your sorry ass I am,” I said through gritted teeth.”
“Although plebian,” he snorted, “I’ll give you some credit for being resourceful.”
“You have no idea how resourceful I can be baby,” I said, anger dripping from every word. It was hard to believe there was a time when I’d trusted him so fully that I was willing to leave everything and everyone I loved for him.
Railey’s eyes narrowed, and I could feel her attempts to slither into my head while Kalan attempted to distract me. So that was their plan! Clearly Kalan was trying to do the same thing while his girlfriend berated me – although his efforts must have been so weak that I didn’t even notice. In hindsight, that made perfect sense because he could have climbed into my head a thousand times when I was sure he was the love of my life. The closest he ever came was reading my thoughts. As I watched his behavior now, it occurred to me that he was simply too arrogant underneath it all to pay attention to anyone other than himself for very long.
“Not gonna happen sweetie,” I said coolly. She cocked her head to the side in that same bird-like way that was so distinctly Lela. I felt a brief wave of fear glide down my spinal column. This was about to get bad. I had just enough time to brace myself before Railey was across the room. She slammed me against our grandfather clock and slapped my face hard enough to cause my vision to go wonky. My hands flew up instinctively to push her back but her strength was far greater than my own. I could hear glass shattering, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Kalan and Kess were slamming into furniture.
“Now you listen to me sweetie, we will kill every one of your podunk family members until you show us how you use the master weaver skill. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” Her right hand was around my throat now making in nearly impossible to breathe.
I could hear my sister sobbing quietly behind me, and for a moment I was absolutely sure this would be the end of all of us. Railey’s eyes were two black orbs, completely void of emotion. Her thoughts flashed in my mind and I knew she intended to start with my sister. Then my papaw muttered something. His voice was flat but his words were clear.
“Get to getting’ Jo-Jo girl.”
A fresh surge of power welled up inside me. It wasn’t the same feeling I’d had when I had fought with her before. No, this was something sinister and deliciously empowering. I focused on her mouth, (which I was frankly sick and tired of hearing) and I stitched it shut. Dark threads appeared across her lips and her hand dropped from my throat so that she could frantically press at her mouth. I allowed myself a quick moment to suck air into my burning lungs, and then I slapped that skank with everything I had. It took her no time to undo my evil sewing, but I could see in her eyes that I’d scared her.
“You gave her dark traits?” She shouted at her brother. I didn’t dare turn my head, but Kessler’s laughter told me he was enjoying my wicked streak, and holding his own with my former boyfriend.
“That’s right Railey, the playing field is level now,” I hissed and curled my index finger, suggesting she come for me. She threw her head back and screeched out words in that creepy language I’d heard Lela use. Just when I thought I had the upper hand, she had me on the floor, her knees crimping into my sides like a vice. She was using Lela’s powers now, and that wasn’t something I’d banked on.
“C’mere Bailey,” she crooned.
I shouted for Kess, but to my horror I realized he and Kalan had weaved out. I knew intuitively that Kalan had tried to run
and Kess had followed. I was on my own. I was panting frantically as my sister appeared, staring down at me. Her blue eyes were vacant, but glistened with unshed tears as she looked to Railey for further instruction. Railey was forcing her will on my sister and even though she was in a deep trance, somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind I knew she was suffering. I struggled to free myself, but Railey was so strong and the more I fought, the harder it became to move my limbs.
“Go in the kitchen and find the biggest knife you can okay?” Bailey nodded and turned to shuffle toward the kitchen. I could hear her slippers making ‘shwoop, shwoop’ sounds and she went slowly across the linoleum floor.
“Bailey no!” I managed, but she didn’t respond to my plea. Railey had her under her spell. Simultaneously my father clicked on the television and pushed his feet up in his recliner. “This is a good picture, daddy don’t you think?” My papaw responded, his voice thick and slow — “I’ve seen it before, but I don’t remember how it ends.” What did he just say?
…I’ve seen it before? Somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered if he was speaking of us, or what he was seeing on the television screen. Time had never moved so slow. I could feel Railey’s weight on me and I could hear the television – a commercial for car insurance. She hit me again, this time square in the face. My eyes focused on the ceiling. I was about to die, right here in front of my family as they casually watched television. Would they find me on the floor in the morning? Why couldn’t I stop this? My brain was mushy and my thoughts were scattered. She hit me again, and I fought to hold onto consciousness as she yelled for my sister to hurry up. I heard my mamaw’s slow voice. “Girl’s dilly-dallying in there. The kitchen’s nevah been that child’s place. I should go and help…”
I blacked out. When I came to, my little sister was standing over me. Her long hair shrouded her face, but as she raised the knife over her head I saw something strange in her eyes. It was the color – like dried straw.
As the point of the knife came down, Railey let out an evil howl that seemed to echo throughout the house. She toppled forward and I had to move my head to the side to keep her head from landing on my face. In the next moment, Kalan materialized with Kess right behind him. Kalan wasn’t fighting because my husband was pressing a black and white dagger firmly into to his back. I shoved Railey’s limp body off of me, and crouched into a sitting position, allowing myself to suck in several deep breaths before I looked up to see Digger sitting next to me. A slow smile spread across his face.