“Dear Robbie. Everyone wants to believe their love is the truest of them all, but love like that is not possible. I cannot trust it. We must destroy that world. We no longer wish to be a part of its destruction. It is too painful,” Desmond says.
“No! Please don’t do this. Our fathers just gave their lives so that we can try,” Robbie begs.
“I am sorry, but we are done,” they say as one voice.
Robbie drops to his knees.
“You no longer want that world. Give me and Nora the power to rule it. Our bond is as strong as yours is to each other. If you don’t want it anymore give it to me. Everything I am is in that world. Let me fight for it. You had to have some kind of faith in me, or I would not be standing here. Please, don’t do this. You asked me if I can save this world and I am telling you, yes. Feel me. Know that what I say is the truth,” Robbie begs.
They laugh and Robbie stands.
“You want to be a god, young Robbie?” they ask.
“No, but I will become whatever is necessary to save my family,” Robbie says.
Silence lingers and Losrath stands.
“You will definitely be strong enough with a little help. Do you think she will pass the test?” he asks floating around Robbie.
“I do,” Robbie replies.
“Do you know the sacrifice you will have to make?”
Robbie’s heart drags to a slow beat and more tears form in his eyes.
“I do, but I believe there may be another way,” he says reluctantly.
“Ah … the ruby. You will try to destroy them all,” Losrath says.
Robbie nods.
Losrath nods and sits back down.
“Thanks to you, Nora is already stronger than even we could have made her, but she is weakened by anger, doubt, and fear. It will be up to you to help her with that. Robbie, I am going to increase your powers. We will also give the two of you the power necessary to defeat Dumont, but only together, will you accomplish this and only if your wife is ready to believe in who she is. Our test will see if your bond is worth depending on. If not—I’m sorry, but we will have no choice but to destroy that world. Have a seat young Robbie, let us see if your bond is as strong as you think it is.”
Am I dead? I don’t feel any pain. I must be dead. Should I open my eyes? No, if I am not dead yet, maybe I should act as if I am until they all leave. Are they still here? I don’t hear them or feel them. Okay, here goes nothing, Nora thinks.
Her mind plays every possible scenario that could happen if she climbed to her feet. Would she be shot again? Or attacked so violently that they do kill her this time? With every reason to stay planted on the ground, Nora still jumps to her feet, ready for the attack. Hum, nothing. Nothing alive anyway, she thinks to herself. The cave is cold and dark. The glow from lit torches in their sconces along the walls are going dim, not leaving her a lot of time to get out while she can still see.
Nora looks around, but the only life is hers. She looks herself over, intrigued by her miraculous recovery.
“I’m healed, and stronger than ever. I read nothing about this in Dad’s book,” she says excitedly.
“Dad? Daddy, where are you?”
She frantically searches for his body. Her father’s body is gone. Robbie is gone. She slowly walks around the cave ready for anything. She drops to the floor and crawls to the spot where she last saw her father’s body. Only his blood covers the spot where he last lay. Her heart crumbles as she remembers their last conversation.
Nora stands heavy-hearted. Even though she had been beaten, shot, and left to rot, her body felt great, but her soul begged for death. Without her family, she has no reason to live. Nora almost collapses from the excruciating pain that penetrates her chest as the thought of Robbie being killed plays with her mind. Although she did not see him die, she knows death would be the only reason she was left for dead.
Nora takes a moment to reclaim herself. One by one the torches go out. Nora’s eyes wander for a way out and land on three lifeless bodies.
“Three? I only killed two humans,” she mumbles.
Walking closer, she realizes she knows the third. She falls next to the body and sobs.
“Uncle Rod.”
Nora’s uncle lay with a gunshot wound to his head. Instantly she remembers the two gunshots. She kisses his head, wipes her face, and continues searching for a way out. After finding the exit, she takes one last look at the place that held the lives of her family.
“I will destroy them all!” she says, remembering the familiar voice of the female, which is now imprinted in her mind forever.
Nora remembers how the woman and her friends laughed at the destruction of her life. Every moment that replays in her mind sends rage through her. That’s who will die first. I will not rest until she is dead.
It doesn’t take long for Nora to get home. She now travels just as a Szion, which frightens her a little. Since she was never told how to get to the house or even which state she was in, she is still unsure how she found her way back. Somehow she felt as if Robbie guided her.
Nora makes it home before the sun comes up. After a shower, and stuffing her face with cold leftover chicken, from the fridge, she sits in the dark trying to gather her thoughts. She repeatedly beats herself mentally by replaying every one of her last moments with each of her dead loved ones. She spends hours sobbing.
Although Robbie is dead, Nora feels him wrap her in his arms. His warming love fills her with strength. She feels him strongly as if their hearts still beat as one. Not just in her heart, but through her entire body as she walks around their house, she can almost hear his voice whisper her name. She loves having him so close to her heart, but the pain is almost unbearable. She sits on their bed, then lies on his pillow just so that she can smell him. Again, she cries until she falls asleep.
“This is extraordinary! She feels him more now,” Losrath says.
Robbie stands and touches the images of Nora’s face. Tears roll down his cheeks, but he smiles.
“We will never be separated again. She will forever feel me and I her,” he says, turning to the gods. “What more could you possibly want from her?”
Desmond stands and approaches Robbie slowly.
“Just one more test. Please, sit.”
That evening, Nora jumps out of bed.
“Light!”
She peeks out the corner of the curtains. Six Light stand outside her house. She watches as they circle the home. Nora walks around the living room with her spike in her hand.
“I know I can’t beat them all, but I will give them one hell of a fight if they try to come in my house. Why haven’t they tried to come in?” she says.
“Nooorrra!”
“She’s here! How did she find me?” Nora whispers.
The woman from the cave taunts her. Nora wants so badly to go out and end her life, but she knows if she is to survive, she will need to be smart about all of her decisions.
“You tricked me, Nora. You pretended to be dead,” she says.
“No, you just suck at killing!” Nora yells, as she dresses.
She laughs, which only pisses Nora off. Nora looks out the window again. She needed to see her, but all she sees is a black cloud of smoke.
“A Shadow.”
Nora’s jaw tightens, and she trembles with anger.
“Oh, come out Nora.”
As badly as Nora wants to be out there and give her the battle of her life, she wants to be smart. There is a reason she has not come in.
“You want me? Come and get me, bitch!”
Nora stands firm and her body races with adrenaline. Within seconds, Light floods her home. Nora fights with ease, destroying all that enter. The rush she feels with each death strengthens her. Plunging her spike into them is more than exciting, it’s exhilarating. After tossing the last Light through the door, Nora exits the house, facing the Shadow. Her gaze is hard and cold.
“Now, like I said, you want me? You come and get me.”<
br />
The Shadow charges her. Nora braces for a harsh battle. Only inches from her face, the Shadow vanishes. She looks around, but it is gone.
“Damn it! Get back here you coward!” Nora yells. “I can’t do this alone, Robbie. I need help, I need you,” she mumbles as she slides down the doorway entrance and plops on the floor.
She pulls her knees to her chest and holds them tightly as she cries. She rests her head on her arms for nearly 20 minutes. She remembers what her dad told her, and she rushes to retrieve the little black book from the bedroom drawer, but there on the counter sits the book, and a small black phone. She’s never seen an object such as this one. Nora picks it up and stares at it.
“Boligon is decades ahead of you.”
Robbie’s whisper, causes her to flinch.
She closes her eyes.
“Robbie,” she whispers.
A blue electronic glow runs through the tiny phone. Right away, she knows it’s Robbie, who placed it there. Nora wastes no time trying to figure out the details. She grabs a book bag from her closet, packs some clothes, the big leather book, the small black book, the cell phone, and her car keys. She jumps in her car and drives off. She has no idea where to go, she only knows it’s not safe to stay there.
After driving for about ten minutes, Nora glances at the passenger seat and sees a handwritten map. She pulls to the side of the road. She assumes it’s another gift from Robbie, but no, this one is from her father. She tosses the map into the back seat.
“Great, a map. I don’t even know where I am, how am I supposed to follow a map?”
She digs out the black book and phone from her bag. She thumbs through the pages hoping to see a familiar name. She recognizes two names toward the back of the book. Rod Langly and Robert Crew. Even seeing their names hurt, and she began to tear up.
“No, Nora. You can’t do this right now,” she tells herself.
Nora takes a few deep breaths before continuing and notices the name Hingi circled in red ink. Written next to the name, a small note
‘Nora, call this number for help. Dial the number and press the green button.’
Nora dials the number. The phone rings until an answering machine picks up. The voice startles her, it is deep yet so familiar. There is no way she knows him. She would remember a name like Hingi.
“You have reached Hingi, it is important you leave a message.”
Nora waits patiently for the beep so that she can leave her message. After the beep, Nora is so lost in thought, trying to remember every man her father has introduced her to. She just cannot place a face with that name. The machine beeps once more indicating she has run out of time to leave a message. She forgets to leave a message. She hangs up and starts to call back, but the phone rings. She holds it a moment, just staring at it, afraid to answer it, then she quickly presses the green talk button.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Nora.”
Her hands start to tremble at the sound of his voice. It is not like any voice she has ever heard, but yet it is so familiar that when he speaks he sends tingling down her spine.
“I’ve been waiting for your call. Don’t talk, just listen. Meet me at the address circled on your father's map in the seat of your car. 2112 Wesley Lane in two hours.”
“I can’t, I don’t know where I am. I need to meet you sooner than that—my home was attacked. I have nowhere to go. How did you know about the map?” she asks.
Nora is a little frustrated that this Mr. Hingi seems to already know everything.
“You are twenty minutes southwest of Orlando, Florida. A small town called Kissimmee. Keep straight and you will find your way. Do not teleport, drive. In fact, use none of your powers. You can be tracked by them. Go there now, you will be safe there. I will be there when I can.”
The line goes dead, and Nora does as she is told.
The address on the map leads her to an old abandoned church. Nora parks facing the church, so she can see anything that may be lurking in the shadows of the woods behind it. She sits in her car fidgeting with the phone debating if she should go inside or stay in the car until Mr. Hingi arrives. She decides she feels safer in her car.
Nora flips through the pages of the old family book again. She reads each page carefully, making sure she misses nothing. She found only a few things missed in her first reading. Nora finds that Light can take human form and can travel through electricity. She slams the book closed.
“That is no help. That just means that they can be anywhere.”
She again thinks of her family, mainly Robbie. She fights her tears and steps out of the car for some fresh air. Nora sits on the hood admiring the old church. It stands strong even though time has taken its toll on the gray bricks. At one time, it must have been a beautiful building. The large windows held paintings of flying angels. Some of the paintings were still intact while the rest were faded or gone. The large wooden doors still seem sturdy even though they are now home to spiders and mites.
An hour has passed and Mr. Hingi has still not shown. Nora looks at the phone and the time shows 6:00 am. The morning heat is getting warmer by the minute. The sun shines brightly over the top of the church, directly in her face. The wind blows gently through the open cracks of the church sending a low whistle through the air. Almost as if the church is singing to her, it’s very relaxing.
Nora’s relaxation fades quickly as a Szion appears in the distance and starts to head her way. Nora slides from the hood of her car. She wonders how long he’d been there—watching her. Knots form in her gut, but she stays in complete control. Nora watches him walk toward her, although he walks at a normal pace—in her mind, he is walking extremely slow, but closing in on her incredibly fast. Every step closer makes her heart jump. Her eyes never leave his face yet the sun blinds her vision, so she cannot see into his eyes. Before long, he stops less than ten feet from her, and every feature is clear. Completely struck with fear, she is unable to move. It seems her feet have glued themselves to the concrete.
“Oh, god. I’ve forgotten how to talk,” she says.
He grins. His smile only embarrasses her since she didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud. It’s the mysterious Mr. Hingi, in the flesh. He is six feet three inches tall, perfect round face, and hazel eyes that hold her in their gaze. His dark complexion and muscular body stand out even through the long, black leather coat he wears.
Nora didn’t know if she could control herself. For some unexplainable reason, all she wants to do is throw herself at him, she wants to feel his skin against hers, and she craved his touch. How can I feel that way for someone other than Robbie? Why does a stranger call to me like this? Why do I feel Robbie when I look at this man? She thinks. She breaks their gaze and gives a faint smile. He smiles back, almost dropping her to her knees.
“Oh god,” she mumbles.
I am losing my mind. Mr. Hingi’s dimples are the same as Robbie’s. It is all just a part of my imagination. I’m just struggling to deal with Robbie’s death, she thinks to herself.
She tries to look away, but sees Robbie’s face within Mr. Hingi’s and finds herself staring. When his face becomes tense with worry, she quickly looks to the ground.
“I’m sorry. You just reminded me of someone for a moment,” she tells him.
He nods.
“Nora let’s go inside.”
Again, Nora is weakened by his voice, but she holds herself together and follows him inside, making a mental list of questions and distractions that will keep her sane around him.
Candles fill the church. Along the back wall are several marble stones, which once had writing on them, now they are covered in dust and cracks. The smell of old wood and candle wax makes Nora’s nose itch, and she has a hard time trying to keep from sneezing.
They sit in the first row of seats closest to the altar. Keeping her eyes in her lap, Nora waits for him to begin.
“I’m sorry this day has been so hard for you,” he says.
“You
don’t know the half of it,” Nora snickers.
“I do.”
His words snap her attention back to his eyes. Like magic, he holds her with his stare. Just like Robbie.
Quickly turning from him, Nora starts shaking. His eyes are no longer hazel, they are as blue as the sea with gold trim. I’m doing it again. She thinks. It is only then that Nora realizes that her life without Robbie is going to be hell. It takes everything in her to sit still. Mr. Hingi places his hand on her knee. Nora jerks away and slides a few inches down.
“Please, don’t touch me.”
He sighs.
“Nora, I was … I am here to help. If you look at me, you will see that,” he says in a calming voice.
Nora keeps her eyes in her lap.
“I have to get out of here before you make me completely lose my mind,” she says.
“Our fathers were friends before they gave their lives.”
“My father was killed!” she snaps, never looking at him.
“Please Nora, look at me,” he says, sliding closer to her.
She again slides away.
“I just have some questions, and then I will be on my way,” she says sharply.
“It’s not safe to answer any questions here,” he replies. “If I’m going to help you, you have to trust me,” he says.
“If this is not a safe place, why are we here?” She asks, standing. “This was a bad idea. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”
She quickly walks toward the door.
“Nora, my name is Rob Hingi!” he calls.
“It was nice to meet you, Rob, but I have monsters to destroy, and if you can’t help me then, we have nothing to talk about. I just lost everyone that I’ve ever loved and you are no help to me. Why in the hell did you ask me to come here? You made me drive here for no reason,” she says, never slowing her pace to the door.
Nora freezes with one hand on the door when he grabs her hand.
“My name is Robbie Hingi. This is the place we first met. We were young, but I know you remember the place.”
Her knees shake and her eyes fill with tears.
Vilmo's Wrath: Deglon Blood Page 8