“I’ve been staring at them for an hour now, trying to come up with the perfect names for them, but I need your help,” Robbie says, brushing Nora’s hair from her face.
“No, you name them,” she tells him, wrapping her arms around him.
He holds her gently while she weeps at the site of the miracles they created.
“Jeramiah Robert and Elizabeth, Mia Hingi,” he whispers into Nora’s ear.
“That is perfect. JR and Lizzy. I love it!” Nora says.
“You need to get dressed, we have company,” he says.
Minutes later, the family rushes in with wide smiles and open arms. JR is the first to open his eyes and let out a low whine to let them know he was bothered. Nora picks him up and instantly the room is quiet. Just like his father, his sea blue eyes light up her heart. His features are the perfect mix of Robbie and her. Then Lizzy awakes, but unlike JR she does not make a sound. She lies perfectly silent. Nora hands JR to Robbie and lifts Lizzy into her arms. A perfect mirror to JR. All but her eyes, they are gray. Almost like looking into glass, the way they sparkled.
Everyone waits patiently to be introduced to the twins, each falling in love with them as if they were their own. Jonny kisses Nora on the cheek and gives Robbie a tight hug.
“Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this family. This is the happiest day of my life,” he says reaching for Lizzy.
He wipes the tears from his face as he looks down at Lizzy. I, like everyone else, am unsure of what my future holds, but I am certain that no matter what happens to me, my twins are in good hands, Nora thinks. I agree. We are blessed, Robbie replies silently.
Moments later, Mia and Marina walk out of the room with the twins.
“What are you doing? Bring them back!” Nora yells, jumping out of bed.
“No! You can't stay in bed all day. Get dressed and get out here,” Mia says, kissing JR on the cheek and shutting the door.
“We need a shower,” Robbie says kissing Nora’s neck.
“We wait for as long as we can. Dumont is growing desperate. His body is rejecting every soul, which means the prince’s body is aging faster and has to claim more and more souls every month just to survive. He can’t afford to get caught. The good news is, he has used up most of the powers of the gods and can’t create any more beings. He will save all the power he has left, for us. Time will cause him to grow weaker, without the gods to fuel him. No matter how many souls he claims, it won’t be enough. We will fight when we have to, but our only responsibility right now is the twins. There is nothing or no one more important than them,” Robbie says.
“What about the humans?” Jonny asks.
“There is nothing more important than the twins,” Zen says.
Robbie sends out a call to the remaining Szion, explaining that each family is on their own until Dumont is dead. As if no one hears him, they call out to him for help. Discomfort sweeps across the minds of the family as Robbie orders them to ignore the distant calls that ring in their ears. After weeks of fighting the urge to answer calls—they stop.
Time passes fast. Although they enjoy each day, they live every minute as if it were their last. Everyone spends every waking moment, spoiling the twins. Before long three years has passed. The twins are talking and running around the house, keeping them on their toes.
Every year, Marina insists that the twins awake to the best birthday ever. On their third birthday, Dave and Jonny prepare their favorite breakfast. Waffles and chocolate, and Mia and Zen covered the living room with gifts. Placing the last balloon on the wall, Marina looks over her work.
“There, it’s done,” she says.
Jonny sets the waffles and all the trimmings on the table and joins the rest of the family in the living room to wait for the twins to awake. After a few minutes of fighting with his impatients, Rocco gets to his feet, he and Jonny share a grin, and they race to the twin’s room to wake them. A moment later, they are racing out of the room with JR and Lizzy on their shoulders making airplane noises.
The day goes by too fast and soon. After a great day the twins settle down. Robbie looks at his family and as peaceful as life seems, his heart tells him their lives are about to change in a drastic way. He grips Nora’s hand. She looks up at him. An electric wave of fear wraps the both of them.
“What’s going on with me? What is this?” Nora asks silently.
“Death. We will lose one of them soon,” Robbie replies voicelessly.
Nora’s eyes fill with tears as she gazes around the room, looking into each of her family member’s faces.
“No tears, Nora. We do not want them to worry.”
Nora wipes her face and puts on a smile.
“Who?”
“I don’t know. No more waiting, we start the hunt tomorrow. I will gather all Vilmo and Szion that want to fight and we will start our cleanup,” Robbie says, kissing her hand.
The next morning the group sets off, leaving Mike, Marina, and Jonny behind to protect the twins.
Each week they are in a different part of the world taking out Light and Shadow. They fight daily for six weeks and still are no closer to Dumont or Aria, only returning home every other week for a few days of rest. Most of their hunts are fairly easy, but in Spokane, Washington they face something different. The streets are quiet, too quiet. Their small group of forty Szion and Vilmo roam cautiously.
“Something is wrong,” Robbie silently says to Nora.
“I know.”
Six humans stagger from out of an alley bloodied and bruised. Robbie holds Nora’s hand tightly.
“Please help. They're killing us all,” a man says.
They move closer with a small child behind them. Their clothes are dirty and torn, but the bruises and blood look as though it has been purposely slathered on. Their hair is neatly groomed. They never once hesitated or paused when approaching the group of strangers with weapons. Then, a few Szion let down their guard and approach the humans.
“No!” Robbie yells.
The group of what seemed to be humans attack Robbie’s warriors viciously. For a moment, most of the Szion stand in shock. The assailant’s false cries for help and human appearances fooled them all. More importantly, they are unable to sense them. They take out most of the Vilmo quickly and then the young Szion. Before long, half of Nora and Robbie’s men are dead and the rest of them are chasing the beast into the woods.
“Stay in groups and be careful!” Robbie yells.
His family stays together as they slowly close in on the beasts. They hear the distant yells of their men dying and can't help but worry if their family is next. They have no idea what type of beings they are up against.
“Do not leave my side,” Robbie says to Nora.
They see small dirt mounds and barbed wire fences throughout the wooded area.
“Get low,” Robbie whispers.
Crawling on the ground, unheard by the enemy, Nora slips over a large mound of dirt and thrust her spike into the neck of one. Her heart pounds violently, but her hands are steady. She rips her spike from his neck, taking his head completely off his shoulders. She cringes at the sight of blood that gushes from his neck. Her stomach bubbles and she feels faint. “Not now, Nora,” Robbie silently says.
“What are these things, Robbie? I have gotten used to the goo, but these things are dying like humans,” Nora says.
“I don’t know, but they need to be destroyed,” he answers.
Then, for a moment the area is silent, that moment ends quickly when many balls of fire hit the surrounding ground. Killing more of their warriors. Mia and Rocco make their way back to Robbie and Nora. Robbie shields them and they watch as the fire pounds at his shield.
“Listen to me, Robbie and I can kill them right now, but you all must go home! We can't protect you here!” Nora tells them.
“I’m not going anywhere without Zen!” Mia snaps.
“Dave is still out there too,” Rocco says.
Nora glances around
but sees no sign of Zen or Dave. In her final look over the scattered corpses and large mounds of dirt, she spots Dave.
“Dave!” she yells breaking from Robbie’s shield.
“Nora!” Robbie yells.
Nora watches Dave stumble over to a barbwire fence. Before she can get to him, he falls directly on the razor sharp fence.
“Dave!” she cries.
She drags his body across the wooded area, hoping by some sort of miracle he is still alive. Robbie lifts Dave into the shield and lays him on the ground.
“Oh my god, his eyes,” Mia cries.
Bloody holes have replaced Dave’s eyes and his blood and soul have been taken.
“You have to leave, now! Take Dave’s body home to his son!” Robbie orders.
Mia shakes her head.
“No! No, Robbie. I’m not leaving without Zen.”
“I’m here,” Zen says, holding his side.
Blood drips from his shirt and he walks with a limp. Mia wraps her arms around his neck. Rocco lifts Dave into his arms and they leave.
Robbie faces Nora, wipes the tears from her eyes, and kisses her. They look into each other’s eyes and smile. They close their eyes and send a bolt of electricity into every heart within 2000 feet. Hand in hand they walk around slowly making sure every beast is dead.
Deer and other wildlife lay lifeless in the mess of blood and dead bodies. Robbie and Nora release one more bolt of energy setting everything on fire until there is only ash that will blow away with the wind.
Robbie and Nora spend days hunting, to the point where they spend very little time with their family. Their only communication is through the Szion call. Zen tells them that Jonny has become distant and bitter with everyone, but the children. When Nora and Robbie do make it home, life is dim. Losing Dave made a hole in their happy home. Robbie and Nora both try to find a way to comfort Jonny, but his only joy is when he is with the twins. They seem to ease the pain for everyone.
“Robbie, it is time we end this. I’m tired of hunting and waiting. I want to call her,” Nora says, as they clean dinner dishes.
“We can’t, not here.”
“There is no other way. It has been years. Aria is creating more and more monsters to destroy this world. It will not end. My dreams are her reality. You told me they are her memories. What if we can search my dreams for landmarks or anything that can help us find her?”
Robbie nods.
“Okay, that’s actually a good plan, but I join in. You will not face any more dreams alone.”
Nora’s urge to kill Aria becomes stronger every day. Her only fear is she doesn’t know the cost of doing so. Robbie and Nora sit with the others and explain their plan. Mia objects, of course, and Jonny and Zen demanded not to be left out of the battle. Robbie and Nora had no choice but to agree to take the two of them. They knew if they left them behind they would follow anyway. Mia continually protests against the idea, but after a private talk with Zen, she changes her argument and sits in silence for the rest of the conversation.
Robbie and Nora sit quietly on the couch until she falls asleep. Although nervous, Nora had kind of missed dreaming. Not necessarily the bad dreams, but any dream. Robbie sealed her mind completely until eventually she stopped dreaming.
Aria sits perched, high on a building looking down at all the miserable humans. They discuss her and she hates the fact that she needed their energy to stay strong. Her only joy is watching her Shadows terrorize them as they pass by. Nowadays, only the criminal and druggies hang out at this time of night, but that is fine with her, they are more fun to watch. They give off, more power than the families. Their vile ways feel good running through her veins.
“I wonder what news Trouse has for me,” she mutters, leaping from the building and landing in front of him.
He holds his head down. It pleases her to feel how much he fears the sight of her.
“Well, what do you have for me?”
“Nothing, my lord. No one knows anything,” he answers weakly.
“You lie!”
“No! I have searched and asked around, but no one has seen them. Maybe—maybe they have gone. We should leave them be,” he says, backing away from her.
“What are you hiding, Trouse?” she yells.
He flinches at the sound of her voice.
“Nothing, no one knows anything,” he whispers.
“It’s a shame the love of my life came from you. Nora kills my one true love and you want me to let her be. What are you hiding?”
He looks her in the eyes for the first time and forces a smile on his face.
“You will die tonight, bitch! My son never loved you!” he says, letting out a scornful laugh.
She strikes him, hitting him hard enough to bring down the brick wall he slams into.
“Get up you fool! Get up you traitorous bastard! Face me like a true Szion!”
He lay there ready to die.
“No? Fine, then die!”
With the swipe of her blade, she removes his head and walks away.
“Ah!”
Pain pierces her stomach. She clenches it and drops to her knees. Blood pours from her mouth and she gets weak in seconds.
“Now, we die together,” Aria says.
Nora wakes in a sweat. Robbie holds tightly to her hand and they stare at each other in fear.
“We got nothing,” Nora says, sitting up.
“Jacksonville,” Robbie says, standing to his feet.
Worry fills his eyes, but he keeps Nora from hearing what he is thinking.
“Well, we know that Trouse will be of no help,” Nora says.
“No, Nora. That hasn’t happened yet. Your dreams are telling us the future. At least part of it. We must find Trouse before it is too late. She thinks you killed someone she loved, which means she has a weakness. If we learn more about Trouse’s son, we can use that.”
They sit quietly and watch the sunrise through the curtains.
“Nora and I will leave tonight. It is imperative we find Aria now,” Robbie announces.
“I am going with you, we told you yesterday we will not stay behind,” Zen declares.
“We don’t know what will come of this. You two should stay with the family,” Robbie answers.
Zen shakes his head and Jonny straps his blades to his calves.
“There is no sense in arguing, Robbie. We are going with you. I will not sit in this house and hide,” Jonny says.
“Okay. Stick with Lights and Shadow and stay close. We need to be able to see one another at all times. The man we are looking for is Trouse McLane. We need to find him and keep him and ourselves alive.”
They all nod in agreement.
“Robbie, thank you for giving my father and me a family again. If I don’t …”
Robbie lifts up his hand and silences Jonny.
“I am sorry for the loss of Dave. We were lucky that he was a part of this family. I do promise that I will die before letting anything happen to you. So, please don’t speak to me as if this is our last conversation. You are my brother and uncle to my children. We need you. Besides, who else will the twins ride?” Robbie jokes. “From here on out we need to make good decisions and never let each other out of our sites. For now let’s enjoy our day and be ready to leave at sunset.”
Jonny smiles. Robbie pats him on the back and Nora kisses him on the cheek and heads to her room.
She lies on her bed. The breeze from the open window brushes her skin. She wraps her arms around her shoulders and smiles. She thinks of all the good things in her life, then for a quick moment she is struck with the possible pain that could come from the hunt later this evening. This could very well be the last hunt they ever make, and unlike before she is okay with not knowing the outcome. Another breeze sweeps across her face, only this one is warm. We will be fine, Robbie whispers silently into her ear from the other room. Nora grins. Completely at ease with everything. Not distracted, frightened, angry, or even anxious.
�
��Mommy are you sleeping?”
JR slides next to her on the bed. He holds her face with his small hands so that he can see her eyes.
“No, I’m up. Good morning, handsome,” Nora says, hugging him and smothering him with kisses.
“Save some for me!” Lizzy says jumping on top of JR.
They laugh as Nora scoops them in her arms and smothers them both with wet kisses. Robbie stands in the doorway, smiling sipping his coffee.
“I love seeing you with them,” he says with no words.
“Oh yeah? How about you join us.”
As Nora tickles the twins, Robbie slides in next to her. JR points to the TV and Lizzy cuddles up in Robbie’s arms, twisting her curly hair with her finger.
“Movie, Daddy,” Lizzy says.
“It’s too bad you couldn’t get any more of these fancy items from Boligon. I wish I could have seen all the amazing things there,” Nora says.
Robbie nods his head.
“Boligon no longer exist for us. Just like how he made this movie player, Mike can make almost anything Boligon has. It is one of his gifts. Being able to recreate any object he has seen,” Robbie says.
“What a gift to have,” Nora says.
They watch TV for about ten minutes, then Lizzy sits up, quickly.
“Daddy, is bad coming?” she asks.
Robbie and Nora sit up and look at each other.
“Lizzy, do you see bad coming?” Robbie asks.
Lizzy nods and continues watching TV.
“JR, do you see bad coming?” Nora asks, turning him toward her.
“Soon Mommy,” he says, turning back toward the TV.
Robbie and Nora jump out of bed. Nora snatches JR into her arms and Robbie heads out the room with Lizzy. They take them to their room and the others race in behind them.
“What’s wrong?” Zen asks, looking out the windows.
“They're here, the twins see them!” Nora answers.
“What? How?” Marina asks, taking the kids from Robbie and Nora’s arms.
“Take them downstairs,” Robbie says calmly.
Vilmo's Wrath: Deglon Blood Page 15