by Leesa Birch
“You’ve been manipulating me!” I accused him. He stepped away from the wall and tried to touch me.
“No!” I shouted, backing away.
“All along you’ve been manipulating me, lying to me, making me do things.” I was ranting, shaking my head in disbelief. How could he do this to me?
“Ivy, you need to calm down. I’ve never hurt you and I’ve never made you do anything you weren’t up for. But seriously, you need to calm down,” he said, pointing to the window.
Looking around, I noticed the rain hitting the window hard - very hard.
“Ivy, you’re attracting the rain. You might break the window, sweetheart. Come on, sit down, try to breathe.” He gently moved me away from the window, drawing the curtains.
“The only time I use my voice like that is to calm you down or soothe you. That’s all. I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to, Ivy,” he said, positioning himself between my legs.
Taking it all in, it made sense. When I’d had a bad day he would hum to me. I’d relax and find it hard to concentrate. Was he doing it now? Looking into his irresistible blue eyes, I sighed. Pulling him up onto the bed to join me, I asked, “Do you have anything else to tell me Kane? Because now would be the time.”
Turning over, I placed my head on his chest and breathed in his scent. I was momentarily angry and hurt but he was stupid if he thought that I’d leave him over that. Giggling to myself, I sat up on my elbows and gave him a serious stare.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a knife on you, Kane?” I knew he wasn’t going to like my plan to get us home.
Kane frowned, rolled me off him and sat up. “A small one, why?” he asked nervously.
“The only way we can go home is if we remove the chip. You won’t feel a thing. Well, you will but it won’t hurt, I promise.” Pleased with my plan, I sat up and held my hand out for the knife.
Kane placed it in my hand but kept his hand there. “What about you, Ivy? I can’t take your pain or heal you.” He stood. “No, I won’t do it.”
One thing at a time then, I thought. I patted the bed for him to lie face down. Raising his shirt, I sat astride him. Sitting comfortably, I felt for the small lump that was the chip.
“Ready?” I asked. He mumbled something into the pillow.
Shifting my eyes, I put my fingers either side of the lump. I pressed down with the knife, making a small incision.
Healing the nerve endings as I went along, he didn’t even flinch. The chip wasn’t deep and I rooted it out carefully with the knife before healing the wound.
“There,” I said, smacking Kane’s bottom as I dismounted him. “All done. Now my turn.”
I showed Kane the chip before lying down on the bed. Kane looked worried. “Just one quick cut, that’s all. I’ll be fine.” I stroked his arm, trying to reassure him.
Kane sat across the back of my legs. I couldn’t help but think ‘what a waste of a motel room’. He lifted my blouse and moved his fingers down my spine until he found the device. I didn’t mean to moan but his hands felt so good.
I felt the tip of the blade touch my skin. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. Nothing happened.
“Are you okay, Kane? You were supposed to cut me as I breathed out. Do you want me to do it again?” I asked, hopefully.
“I can’t do it!” he said, exasperatedly. “I can’t just cut into you, Ivy, I love you - don’t you understand that I can’t hurt you?”
I rolled over as he got off me. “Great, so I’ll have to wait and hope another Lake Dweller can get here before Griffin changes his mind then.” I huffed, throwing my head back onto the bed.
Feeling Kane’s body sliding up my own, I felt a familiar warmth spread through me.
“We don’t have time for this,” I grinned, as I arched beneath him teasingly. Pressing his full length down on me, he moved my hair from my face.
“I know,” he moaned, wiggling his eyebrows at me. “I have a plan.”
Then he pulled the goods away from me. I growled, scrunching the pillow with frustration then got off the bed and followed him out into the rain.
“I know a guy. Trust me,” he said, heading for the front desk.
After making a call and waiting for a cab, we drove away into the night.
“A vet?” I looked at Kane with my best ‘are you kidding me’ face.
He laughed as we knocked on the door.
A small, bald man peeped round the blinds before unlocking several locks and bolts.
“Kane, boy, it’s been too long.” He pulled Kane into a huge hug.
“This is Ivy, Jess. We need your help,” Kane said.
We were ushered inside the waiting room while Jess locked the door. Then we followed him into the examination room. It was a typical vet’s surgery - cold, steel table, everything very clinical.
“What seems to be the trouble?” he asked Kane, his arms folded across his chest as if he meant business.
“You know those chips you put in your dogs or cats in case they get lost? Well someone stuck one in her. I need you to take it out, fast,” Kane said, looking into the room at the back.
“I know you could get in trouble for it, Jess, so I’m willing to help you with anything you got back there. You know what I can do.” Kane turned and looked Jess in the eyes.
The tension in the room rose slightly, as they squared up to each other. I thought they were going to exchange blows. Then Jess burst out laughing.
“Sure, Kane, no problem. I take it someone’s looking for you? Yeah, no need to answer. You get started and I’ll remove your young lady’s chip,” Jess said heartily and gestured towards the table.
I hated cold, steel tables. They brought back too many memories. I shuddered as I climbed up and lay face down. Jess injected me with a local anaesthetic and began to remove my chip. Kane only returned after Jess had put some small, dissolvable stitches in and patched me up.
“Squeamish, eh?” he motioned to Kane.
Kane helped me off the steel table and thanked Jess.
“Anytime you need me, man,” he said, giving Jess a man hug. “I’d flush that if I were you though.” Kane pointed to the chip in the dish.
“Will do, Kane. You two be careful out there,” he called out as we left the surgery.
Holding me tight in the dark whilst waiting for the cab, Kane kissed my forehead. “Maybe you could get some time off working for the council and we could get away for a while?”
I liked the way he thought.
Kane had made a call to his brother before we left the vets and he was waiting for us as we arrived in town. We couldn’t very well get a taxi all the way back to the lake as we were trying to remain secretive. I wasn’t sure what time it was; I just knew that I should have been in bed a long time ago.
Blake approached as we exited the cab. I winced from the pain in my back as I closed the car door - the anaesthetic had worn off. He didn’t seem very happy, grabbing Kane in a bear hug and mumbling something. Apparently, Blake never knew Kane had been taken until he called from the vets. Sylvia had then broken down with guilt under his questioning.
Blake pulled me into an embrace; I whimpered and he let go. “I don’t know how you did it darlin’, but thanks.”
I just smiled meekly, considering it was my fault in the first place. I carefully slid into the back seat as Kane and Blake climbed in the front and we set off back to the lake. Kane filled him in on Griffin and what had happened. He even told him what I’d had to do to get him out of the situation. Blake looked at me with concern through the rear view mirror. I explained why we couldn’t come back because of the microchips and that Kane had finally told me about them both having siren in their ancestry. That part seemed to settle Blake’s mind.
There was an eerie fog clinging to the ground as we hit the dirt road. I shuddered and my stomach turned as we stepped out of the truck and into the mist. The creepy fog was about six inches deep but very dense. We almost waded to the cabin; I didn�
�t like it one bit. Closing the door and switching on the light, I could see it seeping ever so slightly under the door. I went and fetched a towel, wedging it under the tiny gap.
“As long as I don’t touch anyone’s skin for a few days, no one will know that we were chipped, nabbed and punched.” I attributed that last one to Kane, pointing at him. “Or that I resorted to stealing,” I pointed to myself as I poured some coffee for us.
Wedging myself into Kane’s side carefully, he pulled me in close and sighed. “I’m glad you know, Ivy. I hated not telling you, I just didn’t know how you’d react.” Interlacing his fingers with mine, he stared at my left hand. I realised he was looking at my ring finger.
“I had a dream you know - about us.” As we’d still not had the ‘kids conversation’, I wasn’t sure how he’d react but I was feeling so relaxed after such an awful few days, I decided to tell him.
“We lived in a beautiful old house surrounded by fields. We had kids too, two of them. The house was cluttered with toys and you were making me a birthday breakfast.” Kane was stroking my hair as I continued to fill in the details - all the details. At some point Kane had drifted off to sleep while listening to my voice.
I carefully pulled the blanket over us that was resting on the back of the couch, and wondered to myself just how I came to deserve a man like him - and also how I didn’t need to use a sneaky, siren-edged voice to knock him out.
Kane replaced the plaster on my back after we had showered. I decided we should go and see Sylvia to apologise for not calling straight away.
Wrapping up warm, we left the cabin and headed towards the lake. The frost on the ground crunched as we walked and our breath was visible in the cold morning’s air. Sylvia was already up and about; I could see her by the lake’s edge, over by the front of the lodge.
Getting closer, I could see that her face wasn’t that of a happy person. I got ready my apology and took in a breath to speak. Sylvia held her hand up to shush me before I spoke. “Look,” she said, pointing to the edge of the lake. “That’s so not right.” Looking up at me, she continued, “I’ve never seen ice on the lake before. Have you, Ivy?” I shook my head. I was about to speak again when we heard a piercing scream coming from further round the lake.
All three of us looked at each other before running in the direction of the commotion. Kane got there first. The scream had come from Elder Glory. He stopped right by her side before looking at the edge of the lake and turning her away from it.
“Ivy, don’t come over here. Stay there with Sylvia,” he shouted. I didn’t listen. I wanted to know what would cause Glory to scream like that. Stopping next to him, I looked down to see two mangled and lacerated bodies.
10
Sylvia stopped in her tracks right next to me. I couldn’t turn her in time. She fell backwards with her hand over her mouth. I turned to see the look on Kane’s face. I had already seen this back at the other lake; same injuries, deep lacerations, yet no blood around the bodies - naked and broken like they’d been mangled and dropped here. I turned to help Sylvia up.
“Sylvia, look at me, honey. I need you to go and fetch Gary and Barrett right now. Can you do that for me?” I asked her gently. She had trouble pulling her horrified gaze from the corpses in front of her. I had to physically turn her away and repeat what I had asked her to do. Wiping her eyes, she set off at pace towards Agatha’s. I turned and walked back to the bodies.
Kane took Elder Glory further back and told her to wait for the others. Crouching down to examine the bodies, I recognised one of them. “It’s Kaya.” I called over to them. “I think.” I wasn’t sure about the other body. I carefully turned his head to see. What was left of his bones crunched as I moved to see his face. I brushed his hair out of the way.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know him,” I said, loud enough for them to hear. Once the others had arrived, Agatha took Glory away. Kane joined Gary and Barrett by the lake’s bank.
“Same as before, Ivy?” asked Gary. I nodded and looked at Kane. He was frowning at my proximity to the dead people, or the fact that I wasn’t freaked out about it.
“No tracks either,” Barrett said, scouting the area. “I’m inclined to believe Ivy’s dream at this point.” He straightened his suit as he stood up. “I think you should have someone watch the lake until further notice too.”
With Kane still frowning at me, I rose and backed away. “She’s the girl who was supposed to go to the auction instead of me.” I told him. He pulled me further away from the lake, keeping a firm hold of my hand. More council guards turned up with blankets and stretchers to remove the dead lake dwellers. We stayed until they had been removed then I stepped forward.
“I need to talk to the Elders,” I told them. I had to tell them about the painting and suffer the judgment about Griffin, my stealing, etc.
At least the meeting hall was warmer than outside - that was the only good feeling I had. The Elders gathered at their table; they were in a panic that this time, the bodies were by our lake. Standing before them, Kane insisted on standing with me, being a small part of yesterday’s fiasco. As the doors closed, a hush fell over the room. Glory was still upset. I think she’d been close to Kaya. Nathan stood and addressed us.
“Ivy, you have information that’s pertinent to this morning’s horrific events?” He stood, looking down at me from the stage. I gulped and looked at Glory. At least she listened.
“Er, yes, Elder Nathan,” I stuttered. Kane squeezed my hand to let me know he was with me all the way. “It’s a painting. I saw a painting with creatures coming out of the lake, killing people - creatures that the lake has been trying to show me.” Nathan looked at Glory in disbelief; she nodded for me to continue so I told them everything. I started with the dreams about the creatures, about Kane being kidnapped and my breaking and entering. Gasps sounded from around the room. Taking a deep breath, I carried on. I described the painting in as much detail as I could, including the indecipherable runes. I thought I’d tell Glory about the micro-chips when we were alone.
The Elders conferred amongst themselves for a while. I could feel Kane rubbing his thumb along the back of my hand, calming my nerves.
Glory raised her voice a few times and ended the discussion. Rising out of her seat, she spoke over Nathan.
“Ivy, thank you for coming forward with this information. I know it can’t have been easy, considering how much trouble you could’ve been in. Right now, the painting is more important. We need it, and now. Whatever is killing us is killing the lakes too. There are only two lakes that we know of which are still unaffected. If the lakes die, I can’t imagine the pain we will live under. Gary, we need to set up a task force right away. Everyone else, dismissed. Except you, Ivy.”
My stomach turned. I’d almost got out of there without being yelled at. As the hall emptied of community members, council guards appeared, setting up tables and maps. Squeezing my hand, Kane walked me over to Glory.
“I’m sorry about Kaya, Elder Glory. Who was the man with her?” I asked. She blew her nose before answering. “His name was Craig. He was a hundred and thirty years old. They were last seen going on a date.” She rubbed her eyes again and sniffed. Taking my hand in hers her eyes shifted. “No offence, Ivy, but I thought I would check as you usually come back with some sort of injury, like…” her voice trailed off as I felt my back tighten. She healed my cut from the chip implant. Raising her eyebrows at me, she waited for me to explain.
Which I did. She at least smiled at that point and let go of me. Glory looked at Kane for a moment and then back towards me. “Have you had chance to catch up from the other day?” she asked, walking me out of range of Kane’s hearing. I realised she was referring to when I was taken by Malone and almost beaten to death. I shook my head. It hadn’t occurred to me since the ordeal with Griffin, and with Kane telling me his secret. He was not going to be happy.
“I’m sorry to tell you, Ivy. We can’t find Senator Wells. He’s disappeared without
a trace. No paper trail, nothing. We are still looking, though. Malone and his men were arrested and are being charged with several felonies. They haven’t said a word about what happened in the cage. The council Elders are still in talks about it.” She shook her head at me with a worried look.
“Is there anything we can do to help you, Ivy?” She stared at my necklace momentarily before clearing her throat and excusing herself.
“What was all that about, Ivy?” Kane asked, as he moseyed over. I didn’t want to tell him what I had done to those men. I was worried what he would think of me. “The truth is always the right thing,” I said, taking a long breath and letting it out slowly. I ushered him a little further away from the planning taking place over various tables.
“Promise me that whatever I say, Kane, you won’t leave me standing alone in here.” He looked nervous at me. Swallowing hard, I wished I’d remembered to tell him last night or in the motel. “After putting out a house fire - Gary did try to stop me, so don’t be mad at him - I was kidnapped again.” He already looked frustrated and I hadn’t even got to the worst part yet.