Releasing the Demons: Solarian Chronicles II

by Mallory Anderson

  “Yes, ma’am. Everything’s gone so smooth, we actually finished several weeks ahead of schedule.” He smiled at her. “You want to look?”

  “Very much so!”

  “And you gave me permission to use my interior design teams, so everything’s already furnished. Appliances, electronics, down to sheets and towels and your kitchen is even ready to go. The only thing you’ll need to bring are you and your belongings. It’s the ultimate turnkey home.” He handed her and Aiden both a set of keys. “Please, do the honors,” he said. She unlocked the doors with shaking hands. “Welcome home, Miss. Clarkson,” he said, his tone serious as the door slowly swung open.

  They went in and were standing in the enormous kitchen with Brazilian cherry cabinets with etched glass fronts, track lighting in the ceiling and under the cabinets, stainless steel appliances with beige marble floors and darker counters. There was a vast island with barstools on one side, and a large six burner gas stove. Two wall ovens were in the corner, but they angled the wall for easier access. The refrigerator had double doors with a freeze on the bottom and a touch screen display. “This is beautiful,” she said, her eyes constantly on the move.

  They stepped down into the living room with plush off-white carpet with pale blue paint. A pair of French doors opened straight into the pool area, which he’d touched up, and they made the entire wall of glass panes. There were several cherry paneled built-ins through the room, and a massive stone fireplace. Her eyes went wide, and she walked over to the mantle. One of the wood pieces was obviously older than the others, and she touched it gently. David smiled. “I came across it when we first started construction. I thought it would be a nice touch.”

  * * *

  On the wood piece, there were two sets of handprints, one much smaller than the other. Beneath them were hers and Victor’s names, and the date was almost four years ago. She touched Victor’s hands, and Aiden could see the tears in her eyes. “We did this the day we moved here from England.” She looked up at David with a trembling smile. “It’s perfect.”

  They’d also show impeccable taste with the large suede sectional with recliners, a hidden cooler, and speakers in the headrests. There were three matching chairs, a large pale blue and white rug, and a beautiful coffee and end table set.

  The living room was slightly more formal, but still beautiful, and they went into the library, but it broke her heart to see all the empty shelves. When they went down to the basement, it was ready to go with a pool table, and a video game center with both PlayStation and X-Box gaming systems, complete with a ton of games. Aiden laughed. “Chad and Philip are going to have a fit.”

  There was a full bathroom, along with the bedrooms with their own bathrooms down there. On the ground level, there was another guestroom, again with its own bathroom, then there was another full sized bathroom off the living room. Two more guest rooms were upstairs, and they had designed every single one of them with its own style. She somehow knew Ian would go for the blue and black, and she smiled to see it was next door to a room full of soft greens and browns Nehela would love. If they decide to get back to separate rooms, she thought to herself. Each room had its own walk-in closet.

  They went back to the main level, down the massive staircase into the foyer which was lit up with a massive Austrian crystal chandelier hanging from the twenty-foot ceilings, through the formal dining room, past her massive office and into a separate wing of the house. David stood in front of a pair of double doors. “And this is the master wing.”

  He opened the doors, and Mickala’s mouth fell open. There was an immense space easily twice the size of her old room, and a large California King canopy bed with white and dark blue sheer curtains, a sitting area with the large, two-sided fireplace. The ceilings were twelve-foot high, and everything was in sapphire blue, silver, and white.

  Mickala had to smile. The colors of Solaris. David took her into the massive bathroom with an enormous walk-in shower, a massive jetted soaking tub and the large marble vanity with lights over the mirror, a built-in makeup organizer, and plenty of storage for all her hair care stuff. Off to one side, she saw her closet with drawers, shelving, lights, and a full-length, three-sided mirror and a large ottoman. Aiden laughed quietly. “I still don’t think it’s big enough for all of your shoes.”

  David laughed. “I know how women are.” He held up a hand, then opened up a small door, and they went into another, smaller room. “So, I added a whole other room just for shoes.”

  Mickala just rolled her eyes. “I am not that bad!” she said, but she had to laugh. Aiden’s closet on the other side of the bathroom was just as impressive, but it didn’t have the mirror. Back into the room, there was a large sliding glass door which opened up into her little garden surrounded by a low stone wall. Benches and chairs were gathered around the other side of the two-sided fireplace.

  * * *

  The other focal point of the garden was a large marble statue. It was of a woman with long, flowing hair. She had a pair of large angel’s wings, and she held a sword with the point into the ground. She was in a long dress with armor over it. Her head was bowed, her eyes closed. Mickala walked all the way around it. “It’s gorgeous,” she said in a whisper. ‘Where in the world did you find it?”

  He shrugged. “Just this little place I know,” he replied.

  They went back inside to the kitchen, and Mickala sat at the island, looking around in amazement. “I just can’t believe this. It’s so much more than I could ever have imagined.” She turned to David, tears shining in her eyes. “I can’t thank you enough, David.”

  He shook his head. “I’m just glad I could deliver what you wanted.”

  “And so much more,” she said, getting her checkbook out and writing one more.

  She handed it to him, and his eyes widened at the amount. “Miss. Clarkson…”

  She shook her head. “Mickala, and I insist. Consider it a time bonus, if that’ll help. There’s no price on a person’s home,” she said. “And you just gave me my home back. It should be more than enough to cover any final expenses, and to give your crews a bonus as well.”

  He sighed. “Well, when you put it that way, it’s hard to turn down. Thank you.” They walked outside, and she suddenly hugged him, and he smiled. “You know, you remind me of my daughter in a way. It’s truly been a pleasure to work with you. If you need anything else, please, let me know.”

  “You’re at the top of my list,” she said, and they all shook hands again, then went outside to watch as he got in his truck, then waved as he drove off.

  Aiden put his arm around her waist. “Well, love, it’s done.” She turned to look at her house, but her eyes were full of sadness, and he knew she was thinking about Victor. They went back in, and Mickala picked up the phone, pleased to see it was already on, then she called Ian’s cell phone.

  “Hello?” he said, and she realized he wouldn’t know the number.

  “Ian Storm, I know your lazy ass isn’t still in the bed,” she said with a laugh.

  “As a matter of fact, I am,” he replied.

  “Did you have a late night?” she asked.

  He just laughed, and Mickala and Aiden could hear Nehela’s silvery laugh in the background. “You could say that. Why? What’s up?”

  “Well, I guess you didn’t get our note. I was just wondering if you and Nehela wanted to come see the house and get your keys.”

  “It’s finished?” he asked, and she heard the disbelief in his voice.

  “Yes. David’s just left. You want us to come and pick you you?”

  “Uh, of course,” he said.

  “Careful, Ian, you’re starting sound human,” she said with a laugh. “We’ll be there in about twenty, thirty minutes.” EJ came out of the barn as she hung up, his arms folded across his chest as he grinned. “Hey,” she said, then jumped and hugged him.

  He and Aiden laughed. “Hey, yourself, wolfie. So, I’ll guess you’ll be back tomorrow?”

&nbs
p; “Are you kidding me? I’m going to the grocery store, and I’m sleeping at home tonight. Just as soon as we get Ian, Nehela, and our stuff from the hotel,” she replied. David had had seven sets of keys made, and she tossed EJ his.

  * * *

  The three of them got in Victor’s truck and headed back to the city. Nehela and Ian were waiting downstairs, but they came up to help bring everything Aiden and Mickala had accumulated down. Afterwards, they went to the grocery store, and they spent almost two hours inside, filling up three carts before they finally headed home. They went up the driveway, and Adelaide and Titus were on either side of the driveway, almost as if they were escorting them.

  Mickala heard the gasps from Ian and Nehela when they saw the house, and she was almost bouncing in her seat under the wheel as they pulled to a stop. She gave Ian and Nehela their keys when they got out, and before they unloaded the house, they took them through the house. They fell in love with their rooms, especially with the door that went between them. She laughed at the look on their faces. “Yeah, I thought you might like that.”

  They ended up back in the kitchen, and they unloaded the truck, figuring out where they wanted to put everything. “Oh, and I call on the way to get you guys, and they’ll hook the TV up tomorrow, but the phone and the internet’s on, and I’ve got plenty of Firesticks, so we’ll have plenty to watch tonight.”

  Twenty Two

  A Wolf’s Confessions

  There was a knock on the door, and Mickala went to answer it. She was almost knocked over by Kita and Ash as they came barreling in through the door. She knelt and hugged the wolves fiercely. “I’m so glad you guys are home,” she said in a low whisper. She looked up as Chad and Philip came in, their eyes wide as they looked around, and they’d brought Ian and Nehela’s stuff from their house. “Come on and look around.” Two of the sets of keys she’d had made were for them, and she gave them to them.

  After they’d looked around, they shook their heads. “This place is amazing,” Philip said.

  Mickala was so excited, she was literally bouncing around the kitchen as she started cooking dinner. She held a spoon out at the brothers. “You’re staying, right?”

  “We wouldn’t miss it,” they said in unison, then laughed.

  They ended up staying long into the night, laughing and talking. It almost felt as if Xiden hadn’t ever destroyed her life. With one sharp, glaring exception. She kept looking at the fireplace mantle, and sudden, painful grief washed over her. She had to close her eyes tightly, fighting to keep the tears at bay. Are you okay? Aiden asked, and she heard the concern in his voice.

  Yeah, it just hit me suddenly. I was just thinking about how it felt like old times, except for one thing.

  Victor.

  She gave a tiny nod so no one else noticed, and she smiled, feeling his mental embrace. Thanks.

  Chad and Philip eventually left, and Mickala sank back into the couch with a soft sigh. Ian asked if she was okay, and she nodded as she shifted to a more comfortable position. “I’m just a little sore,” she replied. “Healer Jones said that, thanks to having those vertebra fused, I’ll always feel a little stiffer than before.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have been so close to him,” she whispered, and they all went to bed a few minutes later.

  * * *

  About three weeks after moving back into the house, Mickala and Aiden were getting ready for bed when Michelle entered her mind, her voice panicked. Mom, what’s wrong? she asked.

  It’s Travis. A tractor trailer hit him. He’s in the ICU right now, but they say there’s nothing else they can do, and he probably won’t make it through the night. Please, help him if you can. I’ve already lost your father. I can’t lose him, too.

  Where is he? she asked.

  At Universal Hospital here in Miami, Michelle replied.

  I’m on my way. I’ll be there soon.

  Aiden came into the room to see her throwing clothes back on. “Mickala? What’s going on? Where are you going?”

  She explained the situation as she threw her shoes on, then grabbed her keys off the dresser. He hugged her, then kissed her. “Be careful, and let me know when you get there.”

  “I will.”

  Ian and Nehela had already gone to bed, and she went to the garage to an all black motorcycle. She grabbed her jacket and helmet, then put them on before racing down the driveway. As soon as she got on the Interstate heading south, she twisted the throttle back and turned the headlight off. Her night vision was better than any headlight, anyway. She headed to the Florida state line at almost a hundred and eighty miles an hour in the dark.

  She didn’t stop until she crossed the line, and it was just long enough to fill her tank up. She grabbed a quick bite to eat and drink, then kept heading south as the sun rose. It was a little after noon before she pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and raced in, pulling her helmet off. The Healers all bowed as they recognized her, but she didn’t stop.

  She found the room and knocked once before entering. Michelle hugged her tightly. “I wasn’t expecting you until tonight,” she said, her eyes red-rimmed from crying.

  “I got a new toy, a motorcycle. This was the first time I’ve really been able to let her out,” Mickala said, then went to sit beside the bed. She barely recognized Travis, he was so beat and banged up.

  “The worst is internal,” Michelle said, sitting on the side of the bed and taking his hand. “They can’t stop the bleeding. It’s just coming from too many places.” Mickala looked up into her mother’s pinched, white face. “Can you do it?”

  Mickala nodded. “I’ll save him,” she said. Michelle closed the doors and the curtains as her daughter held her hands over Travis’ body, then closed her eyes. The star appeared, and blue light surrounded her and Travis. She began chanting in Solarian, and the light continued to grow brighter as Travis’ internal injuries began to heal, along with the outside wounds. Eventually, the blue light faded, and she took a deep breath as she sat back. She reached up and took her mother’s hand, her own shaking. “He’ll be fine, Mother. I’m going to pass out now.”

  * * *

  Michelle smiled her thanks as Mickala’s eyes closed, and she was instantly asleep. It was a couple of hours later when Travis gave a low groan, then opened his eyes. Michelle was instantly by his side. “Easy, dear. You’re in the hospital. You got hit by an eighteen-wheeler, but you’re going to be okay now,” she explained quietly. Travis looked at Mickala asleep in the chair, and Michelle smiled. “As soon as I called her, she came. The long drive must have tired her out.”

  Travis’ forehead wrinkled. “Just before I woke up, I had the strangest dream about her. She was in a long, white dress, and she was speaking a language I’d never heard before. She had these crazy huge wings that looked like angel wings, and this strange four cornered star on her forehead that was glowing, and there was this blue light around her.

  “She sent the blue light into my body, and that light spread through me, healing everything. Then, when it finished, she whispered it wasn’t my time to go yet. That you still needed me,” he said in a low voice.

  Michelle laughed a little uneasily. “What a crazy dream.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” he replied, but his forehead didn’t smooth out.

  About an hour later, Mickala woke up, and after talking to Michelle and Travis for a few minutes, Travis asked if he could talk to Mickala. “Sure,” Michelle said. “I’m going to get something from the cafeteria. I’ll bring you something back, Mickala.”

  She said thanks, and after the door closed behind Michelle, Travis look at her. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  He hesitated, then started telling her about the dream he’d had. He fixed his eyes on her. “I know it’s insane sounding, but it just felt so damn real. Was it really a dream?”

  She started to say yes, but she stopped at Michelle’s sigh in her head. Go ahead and tell him, Mickala. I can’t do it anymore. I’m t
ired of lying to him. He deserves that much. I love him, and I need to let him make his own choice.

  If that’s what you want, Mickala said.

  It is.

  Mickala took a deep breath and met Travis’ eyes squarely. “No, it wasn’t a dream. What you saw was a manifestation of me as I healed you.”

  “What are you?”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

  He swallowed hard. “I think so. Are you even human?”

  “No.”

  * * *

  The single word hung in the air for several seconds, then he took a deep breath of his own. “Okay, so what are you?”

  Mickala frowned thoughtfully, trying to figure out the best way to answer the question. Finally, she began explaining things much as she’d done to Aiden in the beginning. She was relieved to see there wasn’t any fear or thinking she was crazy. There was only a raging curiosity.

  “So, all the scars you and Michelle have, they’re from fighting others like you?” he asked.

  She nodded. “My grandparents, Sathe and Angel, were two of the kindest, nicest people you could ever hope to meet.”

  Travis asked how old she was, and she winced. He gave a faint smile. “Lay it on me.” She told him, and his eyes widened. They heard the monitor beeping, registering an increase in his heart rate, and she laughed. “As shocking as that is, with everything you’ve told me, somehow, I didn’t expect anything less. But, surely it’s not just you and Michelle, not with scars like those.”

  She shook her head. “Oh, no. You’re actually surrounded by others like us, but you wouldn’t know it unless they showed their true forms.”

  “Aiden.”

  She smiled. “He’s a demon as well, along with Ian. Nehela’s a Healer, an elf, but she’s deadly with a bow and arrow.”

  “If you’re so powerful, then how did EJ…” he trailed off.