by Su Williams
“So…?” I teased. “What do you think of Officer Molly?”
It wasn’t that long ago that Ivy revealed the secret of her orientation. I’d felt like a heel of a friend for not knowing her well enough to see the truth of who she was. I wanted to make it up to her in any way I could, so setting her up with Officer Molly was a no brainer.
“Fine,” she said succinctly, though her excitement to spill more twinkled in her eyes and jittered through her tiny lean body.
“Aw, no. You know you’re dying for me to hook you two up.”
She flipped her hand in a ‘que sera’, whatever wave. “Whatever,” she said.
I grabbed her arm and gave it a playful yank that tipped her off balance. She stumbled from the train rail and pulled me off with her. “Don’t play coy with me, little girl! Or I’ll…” Yeah? Or you’ll what? Dive into her head and make her say yes? I swore I’d never step over that line with her.
“Or what?” she batted her eyes innocently at me, then laced her fingers through mine and hugged my arm to her chest.
“Nothing.”
“Thanks, Em—for thinking of me.” Her outsides shown with quiet contentment, but inside she roiled with excitement and fear.
“Does it make you nervous?”
“Yeah. A little. She’s older than us, right?”
“Just a little. She’s twenty-three. That’s only five years. That’s okay isn’t it?” I scanned her face for the victor of the emotions bubbling inside her. Ivy was silent. “Ives?”
“This is all just so new to me. I mean, I guess I’ve known for a long time about myself. But this will be the first time I’ve actually, you know, been with a girl,” she explained.
“Ivy! You don’t have to have sex with her! It’s just a date.”
My best friend’s face flushed. “I know. I just…I don’t know. I’ve been denying this thing inside me for so long now, it seems a little bizarre to let it loose.”
I elbowed her in the ribs. “I’ll tell her to be extra gentle with you. Have her use the padded handcuffs.”
Ivy’s face flooded crimson again. She released my hand as Eddy led us down the deer path toward the creek, but took it up again once we reached the bottom. She jabbered on and on, about school, Jesse—our estranged third dorkateer—and her potential date with Molly. Even after we reached the bank of the creek and Eddy was wading up to his belly and chasing water skippers and frogs, she rambled on. The happiness in her voice filled my heart with warmth. We sat on the bank and stripped off our socks and shoes to wade in the cold water. It didn’t last long though. The water was snow run-off from Mt. Spokane and soon our little feet were blue from the cold. It didn’t seem to bother the beagle boy any, as he rooted and snuffed and dug holes in the creek bed.
Ivy continued to regale me with the latest gossip from Shadle Park High as we trundled back up the path toward the railroad tracks. But, Eddyson suddenly stopped, and growled low in his throat. The hackles on his neck and back rose to attention.
“What the…” but there was no time for an expletive. Crashing through the underbrush, a mastiff-sized dog came lumbering out of the raccoon path. It bared its giant teeth at Eddy and flattened its ears with a low feral growl. Eddy wasn’t used to other dogs, so his tail oscillated back and forth between his legs, and quivers of excitement shivered through his muscles. The big dog sniffed Eddy’s butt and before I could reel the pup away, he skittered sideways in fear. The big dog seized Eddy by the throat, and shook him like a rag doll. The leash ripped from my hands, and Ivy and I stood there for the briefest moment frozen in shock.
“Stop! Stop! Let go! Goddammit!” I hit the dog, but he took a swipe at me with his teeth and I jumped away. Blood smeared Eddy’s white chest and the big dog returned to shaking him. I had to do something. I had to stop this. A thick branch like a pool cue lay beside the path. I reached down, hoisted it over my head and whacked it down over the dogs back. He turned and snarled at me, but returned his attack on my pup. I raised the branch again and brought it down on his head. This time he skittered away a couple of feet and growled. So I hit him again. And again. And again. Until he finally got the hint, tucked his tail and bolted for the brush. The branch crashed to my feet and I whirled around to find Eddy laying across Ivy’s lap. Deep gashes puckered on his throat and the whole of his white chest turned crimson.
“Eddy!” I flung myself to the ground beside them. His eyes implored me to fix it and he whimpered in pain. “Oh my god. Oh my god.” My fingers trembled over his blood soaked pelt. I had to do something. We were a mile away from the house. Over half a mile to the nearest road. He could bleed to death by the time we got him to a car and then to a vet. I turned to Ivy and grabbed her arms, smearing Eddy’s blood on her. “Ivy. I have to get him help.”
“‘kay.” Poor Baby. My girl was in shock. The pup would be too soon if I didn’t act quick. Carrying him out was not an option.
“Ivy…I have to get him help,” I said again, not sure how to phrase what I was about to say. “Something happened to me back in April. I’ve changed. I’ve changed into something amazing, but I don’t have time to explain it to you right now.” She nodded stiffly. I could always go back and erase the memories once I returned. But I hated to do that, especially to her. “Baby, you’re about to see something that you won’t believe is possible. And I promise I’ll explain everything when I get back to the house.”
Nick said I couldn’t phase with another corporeal body in contact with me. But he also said I couldn’t phase away from another Caphar’s hold. Yet I phased away from him that night under the blue spruce. I scooped Eddy up in my arms, hoping with everything in me that this would work. If it didn’t, I’d have to phase out to find someone to help anyway. His head lolled over my elbow, his eyes at half-mast. God, please make this work.
“Ives? Can you make it back to the house?” She nodded, still in shock. “Ives, I need to know you’ll be okay right now or Eddy’s gonna bleed to death.”
“Yeah yeah. Sure sure,” she whispered through her daze.
“I’ll meet you there as soon as I can. Okay? Ivy? Okay?” I was banking on this working. What if it didn’t?
Ivy turned away from her blood covered hands. “‘kay…”
I had to get Eddy to Emma. She could patch him up in no time.
“Ivy? Get a grip! I need you to focus. Take that stick, in case the dog comes back. Go back to my house. Get a shower.” She glanced back at her stained hands as though she was seeing them for the first time. “Ives? I’ll see you at the cottage soon. Okay? I’ll explain everything then. Okay?” She nodded and hauled herself to her feet.
“Yeah. Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay. I love you Ives. I’ll see you soon.”
She nodded again and went to get the stick.
“I’ll explain everything when I get back, I promise,” I told her again. Then, with all I was worth, I hugged the pup to my chest, gritted my teeth and phased.
Chapter 15 Dr. Feel Good
Eddy’s prone body was limp and still, spattered with his own blood. His breaths were shallow and weak, and I hung on every one like it might be his last. Emma clomped downstairs to the garage in her summer sandals, looking radiant as an angel. Worry pinched her eyes and mouth as she stepped over to the pup’s body and pet his velvety ears.
“I’ve never healed an animal before, Em. I don’t know if it works the same as Caphar.”
“Try,” I commanded, then softened my voice. My heart was breaking. I couldn’t lose Eddyson. Not now. Not yet. “Please, Emma. You gotta try.”
She gave me a stiff nod and laid her hands on his soiled fur. Almost immediately, her hands jerked away, her eyes wide with horror.
“What? What?” Was he dead already? I palpated his body in search of movement. Any movement. Finally, a wisp of a breath lifted his little chest. “Emma?”
“It’s really bad, Em. They call it Shaken Puppy Syndrome. His lungs are collapsed. He’s got several broken r
ibs.”
“Please, Emma. I can’t lose him. Please try.”
The girl gave me a stiff nod, closed her eyes and took a deep breath like she was going to her Zen place. The tight, fearful muscles of her face relaxed into a devout determination. Her tiny, nimble fingers worked over his pelt, and slowly, slowly his breathing evened out and the gaping wounds ebbed their flow. After a few moments, she stepped away. Exhaustion dimmed the glow on her cheeks. Eddy moved his head, opened his eyes and waggled his tail. Just a thump. One single thump that released all my anxiety. I whirled Emma into my arms, half laughing, half crying while she patted my back.
“I’m tired,” she whispered, ghostly quiet. “I’ll get some juice and do some more in a little while.”
“Thank you. Thank you,” I said between hiccups and tears.
“He’s better. Not all the way. But better.”
“It’s enough for now.”
She gave a weak nod and headed upstairs to the kitchen. I kneeled beside Eddy and petted his head and ears, careful of the still-open wounds on his neck. “You’ll be okay now, buddy. It’ll all be okay now.”
Adrian thundered down the stairs. “What’s the meaning of this, Emari? My daughter looks like she’s been doing surgery in a MASH unit!”
Well, you would know.
I stepped aside to reveal Eddy, and Adrian came to an abrupt halt. He knew the pup played a large role in keeping me sane the last few months.
“She was healing Eddy for me. He was attacked by a huge dog while we were out by the creek. I phased him here so Emma could fix him.”
Adrian’s mouth opened to chastise but snapped closed as the realization of what I just said sank in. “You phased with the dog?” I gave him a curt nod. It wasn’t all that spectacular to me. Just a necessity. “But Caphar can’t…”
“Well, I guess they can now. Or at least, I can.”
Adrian grabbed my arms and looked me over. “All of this blood?”
“It’s his. I beat the other dog with a stick before he could hurt me or Ivy.”
Then, my uncle shifted to incredulous mode. “You phased in front of your friend?”
I winced and ducked my head. I’m breaking all kinds of Caphar rules today. “I didn’t have a choice, Uncle Adrian. He’d have died.”
“Emari! Don’t you get it?! You put all the Caphar in danger by your actions. You can’t risk all of them for a dog.” I choked back a nasty word, and he continued. “You’ll have to change her memories and hope she hasn’t been on her phone telling the whole world. She didn’t record you on her phone, did she?”
Adrian was so good at riling me up. “Ivy wouldn’t do that. And I’m not stupid, Adrian. And I won’t defend my actions to you.” I needed Eddy. Plain and simple. “And if you don’t get that you can go to hell.”
“Now, you listen here, young lady…” he began.
“Daddy?” Emma’s sweet voice came from the garage door. “The ice cream is too hard for me to scoop. Could you come help me with it please?”
Adrian scowled at me and I returned his glare. He snorted like a freight train, then his features softened. “Sure, baby girl. I’ll be there in a second.”
“I’m really tired Daddy. Can you come now?”
Adrian turned from me to go to his daughter. He passed her as he went into the kitchen. She gazed down at me with a conspiratorial grin and winked. The girl was shrewd. I liked her even more then. I returned her smile and mouthed “thank you.”
*
Ivy sat staring at the blank TV screen when Adrian dropped me and Eddy off three hours later. Her hair hung in limp coils, still damp after a shower to remove all the blood. And despite the heat of the day, she was huddled up in my fuzzy Walking Dead bathrobe.
Eddy hobbled in beside me, about eighty percent well. Adrian refused to let Emma continue because it drained her so badly. And I didn’t want to push her too far. The pup gave a noisy shake from his head to his tail, his tags clanging around his neck. The chimes were like a wake-up alarm for Ivy, and the girl flung herself at me. I tried to wrap her in my arms, but she abandoned me for the mostly-mended pup on the floor.
“Oh Eddy. I was so worried about you.” She gently stroked his ears and down his neck and back. “Look at you. You look almost all better.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Adrian’s scowl. “Thanks for the ride, Adrian. I got it from here.” I had no problem being snarky with him. Since he found out I was Caphar, he’d been an ass—almost as bad an ass as Sabre. I wanted to ask what his problem was, but I had better things to do right then. Adrian turned on his heel and left, so I slid to the floor beside my girl and my pup.
“How?” Ivy gazed at Eddy’s nearly healed wounds. “There’s no stitches. How is he so much better so fast? And what happened at the creek? Where did you go? Did I just imagine you disappearing right in front of me? Was I really in that much shock?”
Reluctance and eagerness warred in my gut. “Come on,” I stood and offered her my hand, then scooped Eddyson up and laid him next to her on the couch. Sitting beside her, I brushed a stray wisp of her hair away from her face, and trailed nervous fingers down her cheek. Eddy’s fur still felt brittle with leftover dried blood we hadn’t been able to sponge-bath off. I drew a deep breath to clear the clatter of raging thoughts. Should I just change her memories? Make her ‘remember’ how we took Eddy to the vet up Highway 2? No, this was my Baby. I’d tell her the truth. And if she freaked…then I’d blitz her memories.
“I’m not really sure where to begin…”
She giggled. “The beginning is always good.”
So, I started from the start, all the way back to a year and half ago, when Nick entered my life.
“Um…Some things are better—easier if I just show you,” I told her after she got the gist that something about me had changed. “Is that okay?”
Her brows arched together. “‘Show me’, like how? You gonna draw me a picture or something?”
“No, Baby. I can share the memories with you.” Her mouth dipped down and she pinched her lips together, but she gave me a sharp nod.
So, I showed her everything. Nick saving me from the night terrors, the Wraith we battled before Christmas, my kidnapping by Thomas and William, my mortal plummet from the swinging bridge downtown…She gasped at that point, her chest convulsing for breath.
“No…” she whimpered. Maybe this was too much for her.
“Ives, I’m right here with you, honey. So I’m okay, right?” She nodded. “I can tell you the rest, if you prefer.”
“No. Just show me.” She was playing at being tough, but I could hear the strain in her voice.
I continued with the memories: Sabre’s rock star weave, Nick’s nightmares, the battle with the Wraith, Thomas’ revelation of the truth about my parents’ deaths, my rage at Nick, the stupid car crash in my brand new used T-Bird, my interview with Sunny, and finally the dog attack and Eddy’s healing.
“So, you’re a Wraith?” she asked innocently.
“No. The Wraith are—the bad guys. The Caphar, or Dream Weavers, are the good guys. The Wraith cause nightmares just for the high of the brain waves. They make people go insane just for the fun of it. As a Weaver, I can manipulate memories and dreams.”
“Well—why didn’t you just erase my memories of the dog attack? Or change them or something?”
I entwined my fingers with hers. “Because you’re my girl. My best friend. I just—I couldn’t do that to you.”
We sat in silence for immeasurable moments, both raking our fingers through Eddy’s fur. He stretched and groaned. The boy was in puppy heaven.
“You still love him,” she said out of the blue, and confident. Had that much leached into the memories I’d shared with her?
No. “Yeah, I guess. I just don’t trust him anymore.”
“But he did the honorable thing, Em. He kept his word to your dad.”
“Yeah. I suppose.”
“I can tell just from the memories you s
howed me of him how desperately he wanted to tell you. How afraid he was of losing you when he did.” For being so flighty at times, the girl was intuitive. I conceded with a soft grunt. “So, can you read my memories?” she asked, all enthusiastic now.
“Of course. The moment a thought becomes a memory I can read it.”
“Show me. What am I thinking?”
The memory of the two of us at a vampire movie premiere flashed through my mind as soon I reached out to her mind.
“Uh. Could you maybe make it something a little harder? Not something I could’ve already guessed?” I suggested. Ivy giggled and screwed up her face in concentration.
The embers of last night’s fire smoke in the pit. The sun shines high and bright, and dances on the rippling waves of the river. Osprey soar and dive for breakfast for their young. Weekend warriors pelt up and down the river on waver runners and boats.
I marvel at the detail of her memories: the cabin smells of bug spray, dirty socks and morning. We lay on our stomachs watching nature outside the windows. Ivy virtually quivers with a secret.
“So—you know the guy from Fandom Club with the blue Mohawk and gauges in his ears?” she asks.
“Glen? Yeah, I know him.”
“He asked me to go to Otaku Prom with him dressed as Karkat and Nepeta from Homestuck. I was going as Nepeta anyway, so it works out great. What do you think? Should I say yes?”
I bump her shoulder with mine. “Of course you should say yes! How many times do you find a guy who will dress in cosplay with you for a geek prom?”
We chatter for another hour about shopping for just the right black dress, whether or not to wear the grey troll make-up of her character, what character I will play for the prom set up by the local KuroNecoCon group…
I conveyed the memory to her in words and she grinned from ear to ear. “That is just too awesome!” I returned her smile. Until her face wilted in horror and she squeaked out, “No.”
“Ivy? What’s wrong?” But I knew when Eddy’s head popped up and a low rumbling growl vibrated in his chest, that the Wraith was terrorizing her. When she only answered with another horrified ‘no’, I grabbed her arms and dived into her head.