High-schoolers? What did that have to do with anything? It was best they learned early not to mess with her family. Ollie looked down at Bones, who walked between the two towering over him. His skin was too pale to suit her. "Bones, when's the last time you ate?" she asked.
"An hour and a half, approximately," he answered.
She looked up at Ellis, who nodded. "Let's traverse the grocery section and pick up some things, buddy," Ellis said. He scooped the boy up and put him on his back, running into the store, as Bones laughed.
()()()
Taking another drag from the cigarette, the old woman leaned back in her oak rocker, facing the oven. The smell had not yet penetrated the glass front of the stainless-steel oven, so it still had a ways to go. She exhaled, letting the smoke pass through her nostrils. She closed her eyes and let her mind reach out around her to each wall in the condominium. Where there should have been walls, there were books. Ollie had had each wall crafted into shelf space for her brothers' books. Not an empty wall remained in the house. Even though O-no wasn't a reader, his walls were filled with music and DVDs. Ollie spoiled them something terrible.
Her mind traveling, she could feel O-no in his room on the computer--one hand on his keyboard, the other in a cookie bag. Sunny, who was sitting in his room at his desk, was on the phone. Scott was now awake and doing his best to rip apart the stuffed animal in the playpen.
It was quiet. So quiet. Too quiet.
Ahh. The front door was opening.
"Mama." Ollie's voice came before she could see her, which was normally the case. The silence was gone. And a good thing, too. Silence only made the bonds drift apart. And just like that, the walls all came together as O-no pried his butt from the chair he had been in all day, and Sunny came into the hallway from his room, handing Ollie the phone.
Ollie squealed into the phone. The sound was music to the old woman's ears.
Taking another drag from her cigarette, she leaned forward and took a potholder from the marble countertop. Making sure her legs wouldn't give out under her, she secured her hand on the counter next to her. Ever so carefully, she rose up before shuffling over to the oven to open it. The delicious aroma filled the kitchen immediately. She pulled the large roast smothered in carrots, onions, and potatoes out of the oven and set it on top of the stove. Yep, it looked like enough for seven.
Ellis came into the kitchen, kissed her on the forehead, and went to the cabinets. He pulled down the paper plates that she hated. O-no came in and went straight to the counter drawer for the plastic ware that she hated. Ollie came in with the phone in her hand and a bag of plastic cups hanging from her bent elbow.
These kids were too lazy to wash dishes. She just shook her head.
Sunny came into the kitchen to take the bag away from Ollie as he prepared to help the others set the table. Bones came in with a bag that looked bigger than him. He set it on the counter and pulled out a jug of old-fashioned apple cider. Now, that would have been nice warmed, she thought as the kid brought it out to the dining room table.
The old woman shuffled into the dining area as they finished setting the table. Ellis placed the roast in the center, and Ollie ended her call.
The old woman slowly stooped down into her chair at the head of the table as everyone joined her. She waited as they all looked at her, wondering. "Ric is parking. Give him a moment," She said.
They all seemed to curse without saying the words.
Ollie started, "I should have known we were waiting for that--"
"Kiss-ass," O-no finished.
"You two." The old woman's face was stone. She didn't like that kind of talk coming from them about their siblings. Even if it was true. "You will not demean each other, understand?"
"Yes, Mama," they sighed.
"But Mama, you have to agree. He is." Sunny giggled, and they all joined him. Such a ray of sunshine.
It was not long before a tall middle-aged man walked into the dining room with a cake in one hand and a wave of the other. They all looked at the cake and began to giggle again.
"You all can kiss my butt, except you, Mama." He went over to kiss the woman on the forehead. He set down the cake on the table and went to wash his hands at the kitchen sink. Then he came and sat down beside Ollie, who began to pucker her lips at him, mocking. He frowned, but then he pecked his lips against hers, shocking her. Everyone laughed as they all took hands and said grace.
Yep, a little noise was nice.
After dinner, Ollie and Ric sat in reclining chairs on the balcony of the condo overlooking the downtown landscape. All the buildings were lit now, even though darkness was still minutes away. Ollie could see the fatigue in her brother's face as they talked.
Ric was the second of nineteen children. He had a kind heart, but he was such a peacemaker that he backed down from fights, trying to win everyone over and never making waves. He did his best to please everyone and succeeded in annoying everyone. But he didn't care, he said. "It comes in handy to help calm family disputes."
Though he was not the first to go to college, he was the first to pursue a respectable career, becoming a psychologist. He never had said why he went to college to study psychology, but his reason was now sitting beside him.
Eight months after he and his wife, Jen, bore their first child, Scott, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though all the cancerous tumors had been removed, the chemo had taken a lot out of her--and him. He tried to stay strong, and it helped that they were all there for support, but he needed some time to regroup.
Now Ollie worked her special brand of persuasion to get him to stay the night. She always did have a way with her brothers. But she was right in doing so; he needed to rest. And he had been away for too long. She didn't want him to drift away, as her eldest brother had.
"I've arranged for Star to take care of Jen for a couple of days," the old woman yelled out to the balcony, helping Ollie with negotiations.
Ric turned to her with a smile, not really sure if he liked his mother eavesdropping on their conversation. But old habits die hard.
()()()
"Thanks, Mama." Ollie giggled, loving her victory. Ollie turned back to Ric, who sighed, knowing there was no winning. Especially not against Mama.
"So, what are you going to do about Geo?" Ric asked her, knowing Ollie wasn't happy with the oldest. He always pulled his alpha crap with her when the kids were around because she tried to be more civilized around them.
"He can kiss my natural ass. That punk keeps trying to bug me by scaring the kids. Not a good deal. I'm going to crawl all up and through his ass when I see him next time."
He laughed. "Only you've got the balls to do it."
"Balls or not, that nasty, arrogant prick may be the oldest, but he needs to learn to respect our wishes. And I wish you would grow some balls of your own and stand up to him sometime."
"Whoa, Ollie. Calm down. It isn't that easy." He laughed nervously, but she was right. No one except Ollie got into Geo's face. Ellis did, when Ollie was not around, but that was rare. Geo was very intimidating, and he could definitely back up his intimidation. The only reason Ollie and Ellis went toe to toe with him was because they had the tag team thing going for them. And because she rarely cared.
"You're far too old to fear him. Plus you need to set an example." She leaned forward, placing her arms on the railing of the balcony. She stared off beyond the skyline of the city. She was worried about Geo. He was getting farther and farther away from the family. He was the eyes and ears of their family and of the House of Sun, so it made sense that he would have to spend time away from home. But even brothers and sisters that lived farther from him, some outside the country, made phone calls to see how they were doing. The most arrogant of them called to see how Mama was. Geo only called about business. Always business.
Finishing his cider, Ric stood up. "It's been three years since Miko came to us. Is it confirmed that she's the last one?" He looked over at her, and she just shrugged, uns
ure. Ollie wasn't surprised when he chuckled. Their father was a pain in the ass. Of all the fathers to have in the world, the nineteen of them had gotten stuck with the worse. If there was a deadbeat dad list, Jacob Mason, Jamali, would be number one. The only person that remembered his face was Geo. The only one who loved him was Mama. And since he was still alive and kicking, there was a chance the man was still fathering bastards like the nineteen of them.
Ollie followed Ric into the penthouse, where he kissed Mama goodnight before he went to take one of the guest rooms. Once he was gone, the shaman's eyes opened, paling in color, and looked up at Ollie with warning. "Geo is coming tomorrow to speak with you."
"Early?" Ollie smiled. The woman nodded, confirming it. "Then I better get some sleep." She walked past the woman, placing her hand on her shoulder before heading upstairs. Ollie looked in on O-no, who was already tucked into bed. Farther down the hall, she looked in on Sunny, who had a book over his face as he slumbered in his beanbag chair. She took the book and helped him up to the bed before putting the book on one of the many stacks on the floor. The children had no more room on the shelves in the house to store their books, so they were now stacking them on the floor. She definitely would have to deal with that soon--before they had no room to walk.
Passing Bones's room, she saw Ellis asleep beside him with his back against the headboard, head down, and his second book of the day lying on his leg. Bones was curled into Ellis under the covers. She clicked off the light and walked up the stairs to the loft. She crossed the space and sprawled across the king-size bed. Lying there, she let her body breathe as she turned her head to look over at the flat-panel TV mounted on the wall. Gradually she pulled herself up, reached for the remote on the nightstand, and clicked on the eleven o'clock news. She let the sounds of an oblivious world put her to sleep. Hopefully they would block out the nightmares.
()()()
St. Louis, Missouri
Laura mentally swept the motel room, but she gained no insight into what had caused the dead man in the corner of the room to claw out his own eyes and throat. She had never seen anything like it. Nothing about this made sense. House of River had sent agents out to look for the man, who had gone missing after finding out valuable information about the Oracle. There was talk about an assassin being after him, but no one in River would have sent out such a request. They needed him alive. And this man was House of River, so who else would have wanted him dead? Possibly another House that wanted the information he had.
The dead man was a keeper of records for River, the House of spirituality. He was one of the younger ones that could see into the past, like herself. Historians, as they were called. Because he was on a higher enlightenment level than she, he was privileged with access to many of the vaults of information that most other members of the House were not. So when it was discovered that he had breakthrough information, the Heads of River immediately had requested his presence. That was three weeks ago, and now he lay dead from self-mutilation.
Since his disappearance, rumors had begun to spread, suggesting that the Oracle's power was waning. If that was the case, then the Structure was about to suffer a huge setback. Looking at the man in the corner, Laura shuddered. How can you claw out your own throat?
"Did you find anything?"
Laura turned to face one of the three Heads of River. Mary Alexander was the most influential of the leaders of the biggest House in the Structure--and the sourest, after this incident. She was a stout woman with a double chin and short black hair that was flipped up. The frightening woman looked like a politician in her dark-gray suit. Her light-brown skin came from her Dominican father, and her narrow, brown eyes looked at everything like it was beneath her, although she was the shortest one in the room.
Laura clasped her hands to keep them from shaking before answering, "Nothing, but I have only swept the surface."
Armed with firsthand knowledge, this was a woman possessed. Fueled by ambition and dreams of power, Laura saw Mary's past in great detail, especially her business practices. Not because she wanted to, but because Mary Alexander had no regrets about the things she had done for power, and so she never had suppressed any of her past. She was a daddy's girl, and her father had taught her everything that had made him successful. She was known for her brutal yet effective headstrong tactics, and not many people dared to cross this woman. She was vying for more power with her seat at the head of River, and she did not keep it a secret. Anyone who believed himself or herself to be an obstacle became fair game.
"Nothing."
"Pissed" was the only explanation Laura could give for that expression. "I'm trying to dig deeper, but this was a higher-level incident. This will require more time," Laura said.
"Higher-level? How high?" Mary's expression grew softer immediately. Her dark-brown eyes unfocused as she began to wonder the very thing Laura was wondering. Who else wanted at this man, and why? The woman rubbed her chubby hands together and then placed them on Laura's forehead. Mary was using her abilities to enhance Laura's powers. A surge of energy went through Laura's body, amplifying her visions. The images in the room from the past went from blank to vivid instantly.
Laura stood before a huge, black figure, an evil image of a being. Blacker than the night sky. A void. Fear clamped onto her, holding her in place. Her vision focused on the eyes. The eyes were death, chaining her, dragging her into its presence, welcoming her into its cold embrace. Her soul burned, and pain seeped from every pore, oozing like her own blood, which was soon to spill--but not just yet. There was still more time. Plenty of time. The being wanted to make sure she felt the pain over and over before her blood spilled. It did not smile, but she felt its wicked pleasure. A thousand needles penetrated the very depths of her. Her voice became raw before she realized she was screaming.
The figure was gone, and the room was back as she remembered. But the images were still there, so fresh. Playing over and over …
"What went on here?" Mary asked, breathless. She looked scared but not as scared as Laura. Not nearly scared enough. Whatever that had been, it was coming for her next. It knew her, saw into her soul, and was prepared to take her. It enjoyed her taste and was going to take more. Laura backed up into a wall and went down on her knees, praying. She chanted words she had not chanted since she was a child. She had seen evil in its purest form.
"Talk to me. What did you see?" Mary insisted.
"It wants me. It's coming for me." Laura shook uncontrollably. She looked up into Mary's face. "You killed me!" She cried hot tears.
"You're fine. It was just past events. Remember, you can only see past events. Laura," Mary said, and smacked her. "Get hold of yourself."
Laura tried to focus, tried to think, but nothing made sense. That figure was so real. It was right in the room with her. She looked around to the man. He had done that to himself. Fear had driven him to kill himself in such a manner. A few seconds longer with that … being … and she might have done the same. Would have done the same.
"What I saw was not human. What he saw was not human. It possessed him, drove him to that."
"Did he say anything?"
"Rambling, nothing but ramblings," Laura could barely remember hearing anything. "There was something. Demon … something."
"Demon's Wrath?" Mary's eyes popped wide open.
"I don't know … maybe. I … What is Demon's Wrath?" By the silence coming from the woman, it was clear it wasn't good. From the images, it had to be worse.
Mary called in the cleanup crew. "Clean it up. Everything. We won't find anything out." She looked at Laura with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, Laura, but you may be right. I think I just got you killed."
Somehow Laura had already known that the moment the void had looked back at her.
()()()
2
Silver Spring, Maryland
Ollie woke up abruptly, as if from a nightmare that she couldn't remember. Maybe it had been a nightmare, or maybe it was the change in
the air. It wasn't as it was the previous night. Her twin lay beside her, asleep, head propped up under his hands, legs stretched out, wearing the same clothes from yesterday. Then she recalled that not even she had changed. He lay as straight as she sprawled. Good thing it was a California king-size mattress, or she would have kicked him.
Sluggishly she glanced around the room and focused on the mirror on the wall opposite the TV. The TV was turned off, probably before Ellis had collapsed on the bed. Her eyes took her into the black of the bathroom next to the mirror and behind her, to the window next to the TV. It was dark outside. She turned to the nightstand to look at the clock. Four in the morning.
It wasn't her twin that had awakened her; his sleep was too heavy for him to have just plopped down. She looked toward the stairs leading down to the second floor and listened. Nothing. Slowly she rolled just until she was at the edge of the bed. She lowered her feet until she felt the rug. Gradually standing, she made her way to the steps, feeling the cold hardwood floor. Her ears perked. No one, not even Mama, would be up that early, so someone else was in the house. She cursed. Geo must have anticipated that Mama would warn her, and he'd decided to show up even earlier.
She descended the stairs and walked quietly down the hall, checking each room to make sure everyone was in place and safe. She walked down the last set of stairs to the main floor, where she saw the light on in the kitchen. Breathing in deep, she strolled through the living room and dining room until she stopped at the bar separating the kitchen from the dining room. His muscular frame sat on a stool at the bar, looking down at a newspaper.
His amber eyes shifted up to her without any warmth. His hair was cut to his scalp, his high cheekbones and jaw were tight, and his skin smelled of fresh peppermint. He had been in her condo, probably looking for her, not knowing she was staying with Mama.
Children of Sun (Oracle's Legacy) Page 2