Children of Sun (Oracle's Legacy)

by R. B. Holbrook

  "Are you shittin' me? If you take him there, Ollie'll kick all our asses for this, especially since Wolfe got hurt." Troy's laid-back personality was gone.

  "I don't know. I ain't blood." Wolfe frowned.

  "It wouldn't matter." Troy cursed again. "You're family."

  "Let me worry about Ollie." Geo clearly wasn't worried about her.

  By their reactions, the family expected the same menace from Ollie that Granger saw in her.

  "Cee, Troy is coming to pick you up. Meet him two blocks up," Geo said before hanging up the phone.

  "That will leave the kids defenseless." Troy frowned, displeased.

  "Joc and I have people guarding the place," Geo told him as he dialed his cell. "Ellis," he said into the phone. He looked dead at Troy, urging him to go. "I need you to do something for me."

  ()()()

  Sweat dripped down Ollie's back and down the cleft of her bosom as she fought back the pain. It wasn't going to hinder her, and it wasn't going to make her lie down in her room when she wanted to be at Geo's throat. She danced with her image in the mirror, throwing punches, snapping kicks, and dancing to the hip-hop playing on her stereo system. She wasn't going to quit until she was completely exhausted, because her mind wouldn't let her rest.

  Something was going on--something that involved her. Geo wasn't willing to share, and her urge to know about it was burning under her skin. Even though she should be trying to keep down the urges for Mama's sake and for the kids, it was impossible to let go. His head on a pike, that was all she needed. Or on a silver platter. Gold was too yellow and flashy. Too expensive too. Then again, she could find out how to shrink it and carry it as a key chain. Now, wouldn't that be a novelty? The latest trend. Geo-head good luck charms. Then again, his head wouldn't sell for pennies.

  When the music stopped, Ollie spun around, her punch flying into her twin's face. He caught it in his right hand as he held out a bottle of water with his left.

  "Replenish before you dehydrate." He frowned.

  She took it, lowering her guard. He was always trying to take care of her. If she didn't know down in her gut that he was her twin, she would swear the man was her father. Twisting off the cap, she placed the spout to her lips and drank. Taking long pulls from it, she watched as Ellis went to the weapons rack and picked up a bo staff. Putting it down, he walked over to the mirror and leaned forward against it, head down on his arm. When he looked up at her in the mirror, Ollie stopped drinking. There was regret, pure pain in his eyes. An apology.

  Ollie felt her body grow heavy. The room began to blur as she looked down at the water bottle.

  She screamed before throwing the bottle across the room at him. Of course, she missed.

  ()()()

  There was nothing but fog as Ollie lay between dreams and the morning sun. Vaguely she remembered the last thing before going blank. The water bottle. Ollie's head didn't hurt, so she hadn't hit the floor after passing out. That only meant Ellis had moved fast enough to catch her. So the only question that slowly came to surface was why. Why had he drugged her?

  She lay for a long time, looking at the window. Whatever they had drugged her with was still lingering in her system. She dozed off again, only to wake up around lunchtime. She vaguely remembered hearing the door open. Probably someone checking on her. Taking a bathroom break, Ollie felt some of herself return. She went back to the bed but didn't lie down, hearing voices coming from the living area. She wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep the rest of the poison out of her system, but she was hungry.

  She brushed her hands over her frizzy curls before heading for the door. As soon as her door opened, the chatter stopped. Groggily she walked out into the area. Geo was on the couch facing the stairs, and Granger sat on the couch facing the kitchen. Granger? She continued to the kitchen, where Ellis, Cee, and Troy sat around the kitchen table. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another figure in the living area. She turned to see Wolfe in her white armchair with his leg wrapped and resting on her ottoman. Cee was here, and Wolfe's leg was wrapped. Hmmm … Ollie continued to the kitchen. They were so silent, as if at any moment, they expected the worst. Damn, this was better than actually going off.

  She took two slices of bread from the loaf on the counter and placed them in the toaster. Footsteps thumped behind her, coming instead of going. It had to be Joc. Ollie went to a cabinet and pulled down a glass before filling it with water from the sink. It was too early to try to drink any from a bottle.

  Once the toast was ready, she took the apricot preserves out of the refrigerator and slathered each piece before cramming it in her mouth, bite by bite. She turned to the silent bunch before drinking her water. Yep, she was right: Joc was sitting on the stairs, looking prepared. For what? Didn't these people have some where to be, like someplace else, keeping secrets from her?

  Drained, she walked back to her room, not feeling up to any retaliation.

  ()()()

  When the door to Ollie's room shut with a quiet click, the air came back into the room. Looking at the stone figures that had replaced the live people, Granger had expected a monster to bust out from the wall and slaughter every last one of them. But instead …

  "Something's wrong." Geo frowned. He had volunteered last night to take on Ollie's fury, and now that she had none, he was disappointed. So was Granger; he had kind of hoped to see what the big deal was. Joc headed downstairs, stating that he would rather be in a hurricane.

  "Leave it alone, Geo," Ellis said, flipping the page of his book.

  "She is too quiet," Troy agreed.

  "That's my only warning," Ellis sighed.

  "Noted," Geo said, standing up. "But it isn't good for her to hold it in."

  Was he encouraging her wrath? Granger looked at Cee, who looked equally perplexed. Everyone turned to watch Geo go into the room. Granger could feel the pressure rising, like conditions preceding a tornado.

  The silence only lasted a moment, and a noise came from the room. A wrecking ball had made its debut. There was a grunt or two, but mostly just crashing and crunching. The door swung open, and Geo stumbled backward out of the doorway, falling on his ass, sliding back. His cheek had a knot on it already. The man had gone through the grinder. His shirt looked like he'd pulled it out of the trash. The sight that came through the door next was nothing Granger expected.

  Ollie's face was completely calm. Almost … serene.

  "I can accept being cooped up here. But you will not keep info from me." Resolve was locked in her voice. "And Wolfe?" The calm was so damn eerie that Granger began to shiver. "You got our brother hurt. Not. Acceptable." Granger could only watch as she walked to a wooden chair by her bedroom door and picked it up. Not good.

  Just as Geo struggled to get up, she swung the chair into his chest. He fell backward, coughing. She set down the chair over his chest; the legs of the chair separated his torso from his arms, pinning him to the floor. Sitting on the chair, foot on his shoulder, she looked over the room. She pointed to each one of the stunned figures and then thumbed toward the staircase, showing them the exit. Granger looked over his shoulder and noticed that the room was moving. He took the cue. Everyone was headed to the staircase except Geo, who was still pinned down under the chair, coughing, and Ellis, who rose slowly from the table. Ollie's eyes were locked on her twin like a vise grip.

  Once down on the third floor, everyone looked at each other as the noise coming from upstairs grew louder and louder. Granger noticed that Wolfe was holding Cee as she closed her eyes and buried her head in his chest. Troy leaned against the wall, shaking his head repeatedly. Ollie was no hurricane or tornado; she was her own natural disaster. There was such calm amid the brutality, as if it were completely natural.

  "Now you see why I didn't want to be here," Joc said, coming up the stairs. "You think this is bad? You should've seen the hurting she put on me. I still have nightmares." He laughed.

  "Better than the bruising we wanted to give you." Cee's normally
calm and gentle eyes turned cold as she shot a glance at him. No matter what, Joc was enemy number one when it came to their family.

  He could tell that even Ellis feared his sister.

  Though Granger figured Geo could probably handle her, he'd had some doubt when he saw the man, a formidable opponent and very skilled fighter, crumple out of her room like a rag doll.

  "I remember when she took our brother Hood out like--" Troy snapped his finger.

  Granger was shocked. He had met their brother Hood. He was a big name in politics and an excellent military officer for Blade. "I thought you said she was weak at hand-to-hand." Granger said.

  "Ollie fights dirty. Plays to win. That's all I'll say." Troy's face grew grim, remembering the earlier incident. Granger blocked the man out of his head.

  It wasn't a long wait. Granger noticed that the noise had stopped. Total silence.

  A choir of male voices came from upstairs "Cee!" The sister tore away from Wolfe. Everyone followed her upstairs.

  Ollie was lying in the floor. Ellis, looking frantic, was squatting beside her with a busted lip. Geo was pacing, rubbing his arms.

  "What did you do?" Cee screamed.

  "Sh-she just p-p-passed out." Ellis was a mess, as if none of the bruises on his body hurt as much as seeing his sister lying in the floor.

  Cee began to look her over. Taking in the air around her, her hands hovered over Ollie's body, letting her energy pass through to her sister, healing like she had healed Wolfe.

  Granger didn't notice a scratch on her, even though the room looked a mess. Broken lamps, tossed chairs. Cushions from the sofa, splayed. Blood was splattered on one of the white walls. Damn.

  "Troy." Cee waved him over. Immediately he swept in to pick up Ollie and went to Ellis's room. They went inside and shut the door as Ellis sat shaking.

  "This isn't good." Geo ran his hand over his head. "It's getting worse."

  Ellis head snapped up. "Worse?"

  "E, listen," Geo began, but Ellis was up off the floor, headed for Geo, who stooped in a fighting stance. This was what he expected from Geo: no mercy.

  "Worse." Ellis was like a bulldozer, but Geo grabbed hold of him, ignoring his height, and slammed him against the wall so hard that the floors vibrated. This was the Geo Granger knew.

  Geo dragged his brother up the stairs to the roof, where they could finish in private.

  ()()()

  Geo tossed his brother onto the gravel of the roof.

  "Think," Geo commanded as Ellis struggled to get up. "Use that brilliant brain of yours and think. You cannot do this right now." Geo watched as the twin stopped struggling and sat quietly, defeated.

  "Ollie needs you strong. We need you strong. Stop losing yourself when it comes to her. She cannot deal with this. Nor can we."

  "You have no right keeping this from me." He clutched his stomach, where he'd got the better part of Ollie's anger.

  "She could have told you. She could have told all of us, but she didn't. The only reason I know is because Ric called. We didn't tell you because of this." He frowned down as his brother. Ellis needed to collect himself. They didn't have time for any more family squabbles. This wasn't the time. "I see now that I was wrong to keep information from her. It only made her internalize her anger toward me too long."

  "And drugging her didn't help," Ellis sighed. "What do we do?"

  "I was considering getting Granger's help."

  "Hell no."

  The curse that sprang from Ellis shocked Geo. His brother didn't curse often, and when he did, it was never like. It was too crude, like Ollie.

  "Granger is a fourth-level and has a wealth of knowledge that may help her."

  "He gets nowhere near my sister." Ellis had staked his claim, which meant there was no wavering for him.

  "It isn't your call."

  "Arrr!" Ellis tried to stand up, only to sit back down. The pain from his beating had already set in.

  "If Ollie agrees, he will see her."

  "Geo." There was a plea in his growl, and a warning.

  "Do you want to help our sister?" Geo put out his hand to help him up. Ellis turned his head away from him. "Do you want the pain and suffering to stop?"

  Ellis sighed, easing up as he turned his head back. He took Geo's hand. After being hauled up, Ellis' grip clamped down hard. "If he possesses her, I will make sure you hurt until your last breath." Ellis's eyes were dead. Geo had no doubt that he would try. The twin would kill for his sister, even kill his own.

  When they went back down to the living area, Cee was outside the room with a nasty look on her face. She beckoned to Geo with her index finger. This wasn't good. When he approached her, she met his eyes with hostility. It was a rare moment in Cee's life when she bore hostility.

  "You didn't tell me she was bruising again." Her tone was low but angry.

  "Ollie doesn't want it to be a big deal."

  "Geo, it's all on her right side and on her back. The … the thing is huge."

  Damn it, it spread, he thought.

  She continued, "Send her on vacation. Find her some help. You cannot keep her here under these conditions. You can't let this stress keep touching her." She was on the verge of crying.

  "Cee, listen."

  "No, you listen. If something happens to her, Geo, I will be the second--if not the first--to take it out of you. Do something." If the pressure wasn't bad before, it was boiling now. What was he to do? Damn you, Ollie.

  ()()()

  Ollie groaned, opening her eyes. Wiggling, she felt a blanket against her skin and sighed. The pain had hit her so hard that everything had gone black. Everything. She'd thought she could hold it back, but it had busted through her defenses and flooded her whole body. It was obvious from the stinging in her lower back that the bruise had spread. She could only imagine what Ellis was doing now. Geo probably would have to shoot him with a dart gun. An elephant tranq would do the trick.

  "You're awake." Geo's voice made her sit up. He was sitting on the white wicker chair opposite the bed where she lay. His face was healed, and he had on new clothes. Another damned suit.

  "How long was I out?" Her words came dry.

  "An hour, maybe less." He was fully healed in less than an hour. Either Cee was getting better or Ollie hadn't worked him over well enough.

  "What do you want?" Ollie leaned forward, taking the pressure off of her back.

  "To know how my sister is doing." He spoke sincerely. It didn't matter.

  "Kiss my ass."

  "Ollie--"

  "Unless you're puckering up, I want to hear nothing from you." She wanted to hear nothing at all. Silence was golden right now. Sound seemed to make the sting vibrate. This sucked. He sat quietly, but now it was awkward. She looked at him, seeing sadness in those amber eyes. Awwww, damn. He was worried. She could only imagine the looks on the others' faces. Ollie picked up a pillow from behind her and threw it at him. He caught it. "Stop it," she said.

  He fluffed the pillow and tossed it back on the bed. "Ollie, we-"

  "I know." She gritted her teeth in an attempt to hold back her frustration, but it was useless. She was the one in pain. And the one who had to deal with the bruise on her skin. Sympathy wouldn't help, and she wanted none of it.

  "I want you to talk to Granger."

  She froze. Geo, her big brother, wanted her to seek help outside of the family? The very one that had told her never to tell anyone?

  "I hope you didn't pass this by Ellis."

  "Yeah, he hates the idea, but it isn't his choice." Geo frowned. "I don't want this to happen myself, but …" He was running out of ideas. So was she.

  "He probably has a gun to Granger's head as we speak." Ollie could almost see it.

  "Troy is keeping an eye on him for me." Geo sighed before putting on his hard exterior and standing up. "So?"

  "So." Fine, what did she have to lose? Oh, yeah, her soul. Ollie just grinned.

  "What?"

  "Nothing. Send Ellis in
here before you send Granger in," she told him. He nodded and left. Moments later, Ellis came in, brooding. Time to play nice. "Close the door." After he did, he turned around and looked at the floor and not once at her. Fine. She would wait until he was ready.

  He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. He stood as tall as the door, and his jeans were so long that they bunched around his sneakers. His green polo shirt was not tucked in as usual. If it weren't for the dark expression on his face, he would almost look comfortable.

  It wasn't long before his eyes shifted up at her. "Well, you should get this over with." He exhaled.

  Ollie shrugged. "Fine."

  "Fine?" Ellis growled. There was the reaction she was looking for: disapproval.

  "What are you so worried about?" She moved to the side of the bed, placing her feet on the floor.

  "What do you think?" He began to pace. And there was that nervous energy.

  "Tell me."

  He stopped pacing. He didn't answer, and he looked into the distance, thinking over his actions.

  "Ellis, I can't hide from him. If anyone outside the family sees me as I am, it's him. And if he wanted my soul, he'd have it by now. I'm not worried."

  "You are never worried." He gritted his teeth, holding back a heap of anxiety.

  Come on, let it out, she thought. "Do you wonder why?"

  Ellis shook his head and looked up at the ceiling.

  "Leave the man alone. If you want, I'll let you beat on Joc."

  "Promise?" Ellis grinned wickedly, and Ollie laughed.

  "If it's easier for you, make sure no one interrupts. When I'm ready I'll let you know how I am." Ollie stood up. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll let him in when I'm finished."

  "Fully clothed, please." Ellis's eyes narrowed.

  "E!" Ollie laughed. "I'll try not to embarrass you."

  "Fine," he said, leaving.

  He was still concerned, but he would ease up slowly.