Past Truths

by Em Pitts

  It was hard to spot my men, but somehow one of them always managed to stay within my line of sight. Perhaps they were keeping me in their sight in case of the judge. It was comforting either way.

  The judge was front and center with the minister and that Alexander guy. The three were standing on the raised platform above everyone else. I wanted to laugh at the symbolism there.

  "Girlie." Bridget's voice shocked me. I turned and saw her standing behind me with a strained smile. "We need to talk." I nodded my agreement. "Not now, but soon."

  "Okay. Grann—I mean Bridget, if this is about last night I needed to—" She shushed me.

  "Soon." She nodded her head before looking around us. I noticed a few interesting stares aimed my way. The gossiping nosey women. She patted my hand bringing my focus back to her. "You might as well call me Granny. I've gotten used to it. I never had any kids anyway. I might as well make up my own."

  "I try not to call you that in public." I smiled at her.

  "The whole town thinks I'm a crazy old bat as it is." She waved me off. "Let them believe as they wish." My heart warmed at her caring look. I never had a granny either. It would be nice to have one for a while, even if she was closer in age to a mother figure for me.

  The room grew silent as the minister called for everyone's attention. I didn't spot the man with the stick to keep people awake, but maybe he wasn't needed now that we were all standing on our feet. Granny grabbed my hand and we stood to wait for the sermons and send-off of the young men who would be attempting to gain a gift.

  Luckily the sermon was short and to the point.

  Blessings on the men who seek strength. Blessings on the men who are true to their faith. Blessings on the one true God who we follow undividedly to the very end. Sinners are the guilty. Sinners will be punished thoroughly. Stray from the path of sin and follow the path of righteousness.

  I was paraphrasing a bit, but that about wrapped it up.

  They called forth the men who would be participating in the trials to line up in the front of the room so that they may be cleansed to prepare for the hardships ahead. It was conveniently left out that the hardship would be death happening to teenage boys. I corrected myself when I saw a man older than me enter the lineup. I guess some men try for this later in life.

  Seventeen boys and eight men stood in front of us by the time everyone had lined up. Benjamin stood next to the oldest looking member who looked to be in his forties near the beginning of the lineup. I vaguely recognized one face as a boy I had seen within the last two weeks. I believed he was from this village.

  The minister dipped his thumb in oil and pressed it to the forehead of the first boy as he whispered some words to quiet to hear. He repeated this process with each member until he finished.

  "Give your support, brothers, to the men who seek higher reason within the hands of God!" A wave of applause sounded out as some men stepped forward and placed their hands on the aspirans shoulders before moving to allow the next person the same. I wondered briefly if the men supporting them were the ones that traveled her with them. There were more people here than I would have thought for just supporting twenty-five people.

  I looked to find my men through the chaos of moving bodies. Raynor was standing still with his arms crossed near the front while the men moved around him. Nick was leaned against the wall towards the middle of the room. I couldn't find the others right off, but I felt better knowing where two of them were.

  Soon the room was emptying of people as the sermon was over. I walked outside with Granny to see some of the aspirans being congratulated and smiling with others around them. Everyone was in high spirits.

  I watched one man ruffle a boy’s hair and I felt sick to my stomach. In my time, parents still freak out at the thought of sending their children to war when they become adults. Here, everyone seemed to encourage the act of trying to obtain power at the risk of the kid's life. And they were kids. Abby's age. They should be in high school and going on dates, not this.

  Granny pulled me towards the tavern and I looked back to see if any of the men knew where I was going. Ollie's eyes caught mine and he nodded when he saw Granny and I heading to the tavern. I relaxed and followed along then.

  Granny practically shoved me into my old room before closing the door quickly. "You need to leave." She demanded immediately.

  "What happened?" Where was this coming from?

  "They are planning something, Tessa. The judge and his side boy Alex." I calmed down already knowing what she was talking about.

  "I know. We are working on a way to figure it out."

  "We?" She gave me a confused look.

  "The guys." I nodded. She accepted that as she paced.

  "I don't like this. They were talking about Eliza's doll and brought your name up into the conversation." She shook her head looking frazzled.

  That threw me for a loop. Why would they bring up the doll? They can't know about Eliza, can they?

  "I need to get back with the guys," I said aloud.

  "Yes. Yes, stay with them. I don't know what's happening, but something is." She went to me and embraced me close. "I won't tell you to give in to what he wants." She whispered. "But I will tell you to think about it." I stiffened in her arms at the suggestion. "Use it against him if you must. Just make it out of this Tessa." I teared up at her words. She was right that I had to make it out of this. Failure wasn't an option.

  Nick was waiting outside of my door leaned against the wall. Granny scoffed at him. "You would think she was marrying all of you." I blushed at the thought while Nick smiled brightly.

  "We would only be so lucky." She shook her head in mock disappointment at his words. "Alas, Isaake spoke first." Then he winked at Granny. "If he messes up though, I'm next in line."

  "Nick!" I knew my face was on fire as I scolded him. I can't believe he would say something like that. Granny just laughed and started towards the kitchen.

  "Will you be helping out Margrete during this next week?" She called back over her shoulder. When no one answered she stopped and turned to face us. Correction she was facing me. Oh, right! Of course, she was talking to me. Who else would be working with Margrete? My mind must have been frazzled from the thought of four husbands. Which I wasn't thinking about.

  "Umm..." How do I answer that I'm sneaking into the trials with the men? I looked to Nick who seemed content to let me figure this out on my own. Ass. "Actually, no. I'm helping the guys." I hedged.

  "The guys, who are going to the trials? Where women aren't allowed?" She stepped closer to me with each question. "Are you insane?" She questioned Nick practically hissing.

  "We've got her." He assured and smoothly stepped away from the wall. I envied his calm. "She's safer with us than anywhere else." His serious tone seemed to mollify Granny.

  She looked at me questioningly and I nodded my reassurance. I was safer with the men and I was sure that was where I wanted to be.

  "Bring her back alive Nickolas. Or I'll hang you dead myself." I was shocked at the tone and look she shot at Nick.

  Tears pricked my eyes as a warm feeling swelled within me. Love. She loved me as her own. Nick nodded back gravely before grabbing my hand in his.

  "She won’t be harmed, not without my brothers and me dying first." He proclaimed and squeezed my hand reassuringly. He cared too. All of these people surrounding me cared more for me than most people before ever had.

  "You best be going if you don't want anyone seeing you." Granny turned abruptly to walk away.

  She stopped abruptly before swinging around to face us. Before I knew it, her arms were around me again. Just as quickly she let go then latched on to Nick. She whispered something in his ear and ran to the kitchen wiping at her face. I was shocked still. Nick tugged me forward with a reassuring smile to get me moving towards the back door.

  "Is she going to be okay?"

  "Bridget is tougher than anyone here. She'll be fine. She's worried about us, but I meant what I
said." He looked down at me as we stepped out to the empty back lawn. "We'll protect you with our lives, dear heart. Our powers and anything else at our disposal are yours. I won't let you get hurt. Not now, not ever." He cupped my face and held my eyes.

  The sincerity radiated off him warming me. There was something else there that I couldn't identify. A look I had never seen on a man before when he was looking at me. And when did he start calling me by a different nickname?

  "You guys ready?" Isaake asked from beside us.

  I jerked away guilty and immediately felt bad as Nick’s hand fell. I had nothing to be guilty over. Well, not for that moment at least. Isaake was looking away from us with his jaw clenched. Or maybe I did need to feel guilty. Did he not want me with his friends?

  "Ready as we will ever be," Nick spoke up with his patent cheer again. "Time to turn our girl invisible!" He held his arms out wide.

  "Keep your voice down," Raynor spoke up as he came around the building. "Ollie says to meet him out there. Let's go ahead and go before the others finish."

  "Wait!" No one said anything about being invisible. "Invisible how?"

  "Leave that to me," Isaake said and grabbed my hand.

  I watched as my hand slowly disappeared starting from my fingertips. I freaked out and jerked my arm away thinking I was dissolving. I grabbed at the invisible hand that was up to my shoulder now and felt the solidness. Holy shit.

  "I think I'm going to be sick," I muttered before bending over and heaving.

  Nothing came out because I hadn't eaten yet. The weirdest part was not being able to see my hands on the ground holding me up. My stomach contracted again as I got dizzy. A hand on my back was rubbing soothing circles. I looked up at Isaake.

  "Give it a few minutes. Your brain is being tricked right now and doesn't understand what it can't see. Sight messes with our balance more than we realize." He smiled gently down at me.

  "You can still see me?" I questioned and got a nod. "Can they?" I indicated the others with a head tilt.

  "No, but we can hear you fine so no getting any funny ideas on sneaking up on us." Nick teased.

  "Keep that in mind when you are around the others. They can hear any sounds you make." Raynor warned.

  "So, no talking then. Got it." I made to stand up and Isaake offered me his hand. I gladly accepted the help. "What are you guys going to talk about without me? Because I swear, I keep making myself the center of attention lately." I joked.

  Raynor looked thoughtful as Nick got a teasing smile. I have no idea what Nick was going to tease me about though because Raynor asked a question before he could.

  "What did we talk about before her?" Raynor looks confused. "I don't remember." Nick slaps his brother on the shoulder laughing.

  "Nick can keep a link open," Isaake said from beside me. "We will still hear you." He grabbed my hand to start leading me around the building.

  "The whole way?" Nick complained.

  "Yes," Isaake spoke at the same time as Raynor smacked Nick’s head. "We need to know if she needs anything or something happens."

  "It's not like you won't be able to see her." Nick pointed out then eyed the spot where Isaake held my hand. "You're going to look awfully funny holding on to air like that." Isaake scowled at him but dropped my hand.

  "I say we do the link thing," I spoke up my opinion. "I might forget to not speak otherwise. Or what if I need to use the bathroom? I'm not peeing my pants because none of you were paying attention."

  "Fine." Nick drug out the word. He was smiling though and clearly not too put out by the idea. A weird expanding sensation was in my head a moment later. It felt like pressure that started in the middle of my head and expanded outward before disappearing. "Better?" Nick's voice came over my thoughts.

  "What's with the static?" Ollie's voice surprised me. I couldn't see him yet but heard him clearly.

  "That would be Tess. It's how she hears me." Nick spoke up.

  "It's a lot better now. It used to be so loud it was a struggle to hear him at all." I informed him while looking around the square. "Where are you?"

  "Just past the meetinghouse. We are taking the roads." I looked over to the left and could not see him past the swell of people and their goodbyes. I don't blame them for the long hugs. The aspirans might now come back.

  "The roads?" I asked. "Why not tunnel and save time?"

  "Remember the ‘not letting people know your true potential’ thing? It's best to travel with everyone else and save the questions." Isaake’s voice was just as smooth in my mind.

  "It's going to be a long journey isn't it?" I asked.

  "So very long." Nick dramatically sighed. I saw Ollie finally. He was speaking to Hector. When we approached Hector waved to all the men before walking back towards the tavern.

  "He isn't traveling with us?"

  "He chooses to stay in the town in case he is needed." Ollie let me know.

  "Why do you guys go then?" Ollie's jaw clenched at my question.

  "My father is rich and powerful. He's a figurehead for the town. It's expected that I take his place. I have to be at every trial to show my support." His voice was annoyed but resigned.

  "Will your father be there?" I asked. The other men around me stiffened up at my question. Isaake's eyes went cold.

  "You'll never see my father, Tess. If he shows his face around me, I'll kill him." Ollie spoke the words as a matter of fact.

  "It is only a matter of sheer luck that he isn't dead yet," Isaake spoke his support of the idea. I eyed him. Again, I questioned his relationship with Weetamoo.

  "Come on guys. I'll be worn out by the end of the day already, so we might as well start walking." Nick spoke aloud this time breaking the mood by changing the subject.

  "Crybaby," Raynor muttered and followed Nick while the rest of us tagged along.

  I wouldn't admit it to the guys, but I was dreading the walk like Nick. Maybe I could jump on one of their backs without it looking weird if I got too tired. I laughed at the thought of what Raynor would look like to everyone else as he held me up while I piggybacked. He would look like a gorilla with his arms held away from his sides.

  The others eyed me when I laughed randomly. I waved them off before realizing they couldn't see me. But they could hear me, which is how they knew where to look. Oops.

  "Sorry, I'll do better," I spoke in my mind and bit my lip to stop any more chuckles. I'm so glad everyone was too busy dealing with loved ones to pay attention to a random woman's laugh where there was no woman. This is going to be a long walk.

  26

  An hour in and I was complaining as loudly as Nick. I kept my protests within our mental conversation though, not forgetting again about being heard. It was strange being surrounded by the men in order to keep all of the others away from me.

  Some of the new hopeful participants kept trying to make small talk with the guys before realizing no one was interested in returning their conversation. None of the guys were directly rude, except Ollie, who bluntly asked a boy named Jasper if he had enough working brain matter to be here. To be fair, the kid wouldn't shut up about Ollie's father, Mr. Thornburn, and clearly was only trying to make nice to get close to Ollie.

  It was exhausting listening to the teenagers talk behind us and beyond annoying watching them approach repeatedly. The first time was cute. The tenth time, not so much.

  Benjamin and the older man didn't try to make nice with anyone. Both looked to be lost in their own thoughts for the majority of the trip. They seemed to be the only ones taking this seriously. I didn't dare look farther behind the participants where the judge walked with the minister and Alexander. Irrationally, I thought paying attention to Judge might make him notice me.

  "Come on! Just for a minute or so." I tried to reason with the men surrounding me. "It would be hilarious, and it might actually stop them from approaching you again.”

  "Tessa you are not pretending to be a ghost to mess with them." Isaake sounded exasperated. Nick
was laughing and supporting my idea completely. Raynor even seemed amused by it.

  "It would be a harmless prank. I can just pull their hair a couple of times. Or you can distract them while I steal their hats."

  I thought it was a brilliant idea. Especially as I watched Lyonell approach for his third time. I bet he introduces himself again. I didn't warn the men but instead, let it play out.

  "Good day, Mr. James. I'm not sure if you heard me introduce myself earlier, but I'm Lyonell Anderson." He held his hand out and Isaake ignored it.

  Lyonell was a teenager who had already tried speaking with Ollie first and Nick second. I bet Raynor would be next. Lyonell dropped his hand unperturbed.

  "It's an honor to meet you, sir." Suck up. "I've heard about your abilities and how strong your gifts are. Salem Village is mighty proud to have you with them! I was wondering if you would be willing to offer any advice to a new aspirans?" He asked eagerly.

  When Lyonell approached Ollie, he fangirled over Ollie's lineage. With Nick, he spoke about his amazing ability to cleanse the waters. The way he skipped over Isaake's abilities made me think that he didn't have a clue what Isaake could do.

  "Still set on me not terrorizing the kids?" I asked cheerfully.

  "Yes," Isaake answered aloud making me think he was speaking to me. Then he added, "Don't die." Lyonell must have considered that enough talking as he slowed his pace and muttered thanks.

  "I say let her." Ollie's voice filled my head surprising me. "It'll stop them and her both."

  "Hey!" I exclaimed. "I'm not that bad."

  "I bet you're bouncing around like a rabbit." He drawled in amusement.

  "Twitching like a squirrel," Raynor added in sounding just as amused.

  "Maybe she's—" I cut Nick's input off.

  "You get no say mister. We are in this boredom together. I will not be the only annoying one right now!"

  "I wasn't going to say anything bad." He defended. "I was just thinking with the way you like to undress lately maybe you had already ditched your clothes and—"