“Ollie told me to bring Lily a glass of cherry soda, I didn’t want to miss her, I’m sorry.” The girl spoke in a rush and grinned at me widely. “I’m Julia,” she said happily holding out her hand.
I shook it speechless. I wasn’t used to being the center of attention. She was a beautiful little girl. Her bright red hair, the color reminded me of cherries, fell in unkempt curls around her cherubic face. Her white sweater and light jeans were covered in grass stains. Her green eyes sparkled with excitement.
“It’s lovely to meet you Julia, but I really must be going.” I stood up, more steadily this time and walked toward the dock.
“Oh no please. Please stay, just for awhile longer.” The girl had rushed to my side and grabbed my hand. I looked to Lydia for help, but she merely shrugged and went inside. The girl hung on to my hand desperately.
“I really must be getting back Julia. My friend is probably very worried about me.” I spoke to her as you would speak to any child although I was sure she was wise far beyond her years.
“Please stay. Ollie is so much happier when he’s near you. He will start to cry again if you leave. I think he gets lonely, but don’t tell him I told you that. I wasn’t supposed to be spying.” She grinned and jostled my hand looking at me expectantly.
I sighed. I didn’t want to crush a little girl, but I wanted to get back to a bath and a change of clothes. In addition, I wasn’t quite sure how to tell a twelve year old that I wanted to take a baseball bat to her ‘Ollies’ head. In the end, her pleading eyes swayed me. I remembered being so isolated the same people day after day. Never allowed out for fear you would spill your secrets. I bent down to look her in the eye, despite it bringing my dizziness back.
“How about this, I will go home and change and come back first thing tomorrow, is that ok?”
She looked suspicious. “Do you promise to come back?”
“I swear, cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” She smiled and I couldn’t help but smile too. I kissed the top of her head.
“See you tomorrow Jules” I called over my shoulder as I walked to the nearest payphone. Billy answered on the first ring. I asked him to pick me up a few blocks from the dock. I wasn’t in the mood to watch anyone fight right now.
Chapter 10
A dark blue Taurus skidded to a stop right in front of the bench where I was sitting. Billy barely put the car in park before he jumped out and grabbed me into a bear hug. He wanted to know everything that had happened, but I insisted I needed a bath before I could even discuss it. An hour and two tub refills later, the warm water with the bath salts calmed my nerves and made me feel better instantly. I came out in a bathrobe, still feeling exhausted and weak, but at least content. I couldn’t fathom how humans dealt with this feeling every night. It was annoying. Finally, I lay down on the bed and started at the beginning. As soon as Billy heard I hadn’t gone voluntarily he was putting on his coat and heading for the door. I had to leap out of bed to stop him.
“I’m going to kill him for pulling this LiLi. I swear I am.”
“First off, you can’t kill him, and he can’t kill you. Therefore, you will be in hand-to-hand combat for all eternity. Secondly, I don’t want you to leave me here all alone.”
Ok, the second thing was a lie. All I wanted was to close my eyes and rest, but I knew he would stay if I said I needed him to and his face instantly turned tender.
“Of course I won’t leave you LiLi. Nevertheless, we are out of here first thing in the morning. I want countries between us and him.”
I bit my lip and twisted my hands in my lap. He glared at me with a look I could only describe as exasperation.
“I need to go back and talk to Olexander in the morning.”
He threw his arms up in the air. “Go to bed LiLi, before I lose my temper.”
He grabbed a pillow and I heard the TV flick on in the living room.
The next morning I felt 100% better and got dressed quietly and quickly still factoring in running for my life into my wardrobe. I went out to the living room expecting a torrent, but Billy was gone. The weather was much colder today and so I thought my riding jacket would look more appropriate. I hailed a taxi outside the hotel and went to the docks. Julia was sitting on the edge of one of the benches crying. She spoke through sniffles.
“Lydia is gone, no one can find her.” She buried her face in my shoulder sobbing. Olexander came out looking weary and upset.
“What happened?” I demanded.
“Lydia went out last night. She said she was going shopping. She never came back.”
“Is someone spending a night out is unusual?”
“We are very particular about time with the Castus running around. We have cell phones to check in every hour, and Lydia hasn’t checked in since ten last night. Liliana—Lily, I know it is a lot to ask but could you sit with Julia while the others and I go to look for her?”
I didn’t think I could pry the girl off of me if I wanted to, so I nodded solemnly. I knew that the odds of Lydia being irresponsible and alive somewhere were slim.
“Hey little Jules, why don’t you show me your room?” I thought distracting her was my safest bet. She took my hand and led me inside.
Her room was quite large and filled with personality. The walls were a light wood paneling, with shiny lacquer that reflected the light of the bedside lamps. There were posters of actors I recognized as being very popular. Her small white vanity was cluttered with books, papers, and cherry candies. Clothes were stacked in a pile on the floor next to a desk I assumed was for her lessons. She threw herself on her bed and buried her face in a pillow. I wasn’t used to comforting anyone, so I sat down next to her quietly. I took off my jacket and placed it in my lap. Finally, after some time she broke the silence.
“What will happen to me if Aunt Lydia is gone?” The terror in her eyes broke my heart.
“I would imagine one of the others would take you on. You wouldn’t be without a home.” I smiled reassuringly, smoothing her hair. She seemed to contemplate this, a bit calmer now playing idly with the zipper on my jacket.
“Why is your jacket so heavy?” She asked.
“It’s a riding jacket; I drive a motorcycle back home.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really? That is so cool. What else?”
“What else what,” I asked confused
“What other cool things do you do,” she asked eagerly.
I had to think for a moment. There wasn’t a lot that made me stand out. General snarkiness and short temper aside. Then I remembered. There was something special about me now.
“I can see people’s auras,” I said. She looked confused. “Auras are like a glow that shines outward from people. Different colors usually indicate different feelings or thoughts. It’s new, so I’m not completely used to it yet.”
“What color am I,” she asked in a contemplative tone.
I looked at her and focused. “You are a deep blue, just around your edges.”
“What does that mean?”
“I think it means you’re sad,” I said quietly.
Her eyes became clouded with tears, and she nuzzled closer to me.
“Lily, if Lydia doesn’t come back will you take care of me?”
The question caught me completely off guard. I hadn’t been expecting anything like this.
Olexander was in the doorway and he answered for me.
“Now Julia you know that Lily doesn’t live with us.” He patted her head and caught my eye. I knew. I knew the second I looked into those eyes they had found Lydia.
I turned to Julia, trying to keep the tragedy from my voice. “Jules, why don’t you play me some of your favorite music?”
She smiled and jumped off the bed racing to her CD player. I eyed Olexander somberly.
“Jules I am going to step out and talk to Ollie a moment, but I will be right back.”
We were safe in the hallway with the door closed before he spoke.
“We found her body ab
out three miles from St. Andrews Street. She had been stabbed, once through the heart.” He rubbed his eyes and for once looked much older than 20. “What am I supposed to tell Julia? Rebecca is terrified and wants to leave us. Thomas has been considering traveling on his own anyway.”
“What about Julia?” I asked, with an accusing edge to my voice. “You can’t just leave her.”
“Of course I’m not going to abandon her.”
I was somewhat relieved to hear him say that. Screaming distracted us from further conversation. I recognized the voice coming from the deck immediately. Billy had followed me. Olexander and I rushed to see Billy engaged in a fistfight with who I could only assume was Thomas. Olexander rushed to break the fight up. As soon as Thomas stormed out Billy took the opportunity to punch Olexander square in the jaw.
“Oh this is wonderful,” I shrieked. “Why don’t we cause a huge scene because clearly we aren’t exposed enough!” My screaming fell on deaf ears. They were still beating each other and suddenly I was in no rush to stop it. Let them fight until they got bored. I sat down on the bench and crossed my legs, waiting for one of them to lose interest. I would have stayed that way, probably for quite some time, had it not been for Julia’s horrorstruck face standing in the door way.
“You leave Ollie alone,” she cried, and launched herself at them. I barely caught her before she took a blow to the chest. I was obviously going to have to do something now. Jules was very breakable and I couldn’t have their childishness harming her. I jumped between them, just barely dodging a punch to the gut myself.
“Stop this right now, or I swear to God I won’t speak to either of you ever again.”
That stopped them both short, as if neither could believe I would ever talk to the other again in the first place. I had Julia behind me, just in case they started back up again.
“Now we can all speak as rational grown-ups, or Julia and I can leave right now and never come back.” The girl clung to me even more tightly as if to silently encourage my words. I got the feeling however that I would regret saying them later.
“First” I said looking Billy square in the eye “Olexander and I need to speak to Julia privately, and then we will begin to sort this out.”
Billy stood there sullen, defeated and furious. Olexander looked at Julia, and then to me, attempting to adjust his disheveled appearance. The next hour was one of the worst of my life. We tried to comfort Julia, but after finding out about Lydia, she just wanted to be alone. I understood that. Olexander and I went back up to the main deck, but Billy was once again gone.
“Over 400 years,” he said wearily, “and I don’t think I’ve ever felt this exhausted with existence before.”
He put his head in his hands. I lay back on one of the beach chairs flanking the pool staring at the stars. It certainly did seem like everything had suddenly become more difficult and that time was moving much too quickly. I heard him let out a huge sigh and come over to lie down on the chair next to mine.
“Have you hated me all these years Liliana?” He whispered the words full of grief.
I sighed heavily. “I don’t understand you. Why did you do this to me? Why did you want me to be this way?”
He looked as though I’d slapped him. “This is what you were born to do. You were chosen Lily. Don’t you think I wanted you with me?”
“Honestly Olexander, I don’t know what you want.” I was overwhelmed with the thought of how things could have been. Olexander and I could have stayed together. I could have had a someone. Suddenly he sat upright and took my hand into his own, tracing the outlines of my tattoo.
“I haven’t forgiven you for that yet.” I said glaring at his hand on my arm.
“Please consider coming with us. Julia could use someone to look up to, someone strong and confident. She’s so lonely. I’m afraid I am terrible company.”
“She mentioned that actually. She said she didn’t want you to cry anymore.”
He hung his head and chuckled humorlessly. “That child sees far more than she lets on.”
I squeezed his hand tightly. “We all see more than you give us credit for Olexander.”
He kissed my cheek “We all regret walking away from someone Liliana,” he said it so quietly I might have missed it.
“I suppose I could forgive you. If you make up with Billy and make every effort to speak to him civilly.”
He looked like he would rather have lived with my hatred but he simply sighed and pulled a sleek black cell phone out of his pocket. “Give him a call. Tell him to come back.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” He said quietly. “Have you hated me?”
I felt the tears well up in my eyes. “No, somehow I never could manage to hate you. I’ve hated myself intensely though. That was enough.”
He looked confused. “Why on earth would you hate yourself?”
“You haven’t known me for 100 years Olexander. Things I’ve done, people I’ve known. If you only knew how badly I’ve wanted someone to come and save me, merely from myself…” I didn’t finish the thought.
I dialed Billy’s cell phone number. He answered on the second ring, and agreed to come back to the boat to talk to Olexander and me. I handed Olexander his phone back and his hand lingered in mine for a moment.
“If you knew how much you meant to me Liliana, you could never hate yourself.”
His intensity was such, that although it was only for a moment, I believed him.
Billy did not look happy when his blue car pulled up at the docks. It was still just Olexander and I on the deck seated at the large table. Rebecca had barricaded herself in her room and Thomas had yet to come back. Billy walked hesitantly to sit in the chair farthest from Olexander but nearest to me.
“Let’s make this quick,” he said scathingly.
We explained to him that Lydia had been killed. He sat motionless in his chair. Olexander managed to keep accusation out of his voice at least. Finally, Billy focused on me.
“What are you going to do LiLi?”
Now I had two sets of eyes piercing a hole through me. I needed to make a decision, and I needed to make one quickly. When I realized by spending the day on the boat, I’d already decided.
“I’m going with Olexander and the others. It’s not safe here Billy. Possibly two dead Collectors is a risk I’m not willing to take.”
“William, you are of course welcome to come as well, for your own safety.” Olexander was calm and polite, but I could tell it was the very last thing he wanted and Billy’s safety was not even remotely on his list of things to worry about.
Billy smiled a wide, smug smile. “I think I will take you up on that offer. When do we leave?”
Olexander had to have been surprised, but if he was he hid it well. “We will leave at dawn; you and Liliana should pack your things and meet us back here then.”
We both nodded once to Olexander and walked back toward the car. Olexander grabbed me into a tight firm hug. “Watch your back and be careful.” He whispered, and released me.
Billy and I drove in silence to the hotel and packed our things.
There was no blocking the crimson glow emanating from every part of his body now.
“You don’t have to come with us. You could stay here with your mom,” I said meekly. He continued packing wordlessly. I was beginning to feel like a hurricane. I had come into his life and turned things upside down in a matter of a week. Now he would go from living his peaceful life of anonymity to being another passenger on what could possibly be a targeted boat in the middle of the ocean. The tension in the bedroom was palpable so I slipped into the bathroom and sat on the cool ceramic floor. I was tracing the patterns of the shower curtain with my finger when I heard three short knocks on the door.
“Can I come in?” He said, now the meek sounding one. I said yes, but it was barely more than a whisper. My breath came out funny and my voice sounded foreign. He came in and sat next to me on the floor. It was silly, we had a whole
hotel room yet here we were sitting between the shower and the enormous tub like children in a fort. His voice was stern, almost business like.
“Clara knows the dangers of staying here. I told her everything last night, but she won’t leave her home. She knows how important you are to me. She wants me to go with you. I don’t want to be without you.”
“I don’t want you to go just because of me, if you don’t think Olexander is telling the truth, if you have doubts, you should stay.”
He only shook his head and I realized his mind on the matter was made up. I scooted closer and leaned against him quietly for another ten minutes or so before we both silently got up and gathered the rest of our things to set off for the docks.
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