“Are we going to talk about this?” He chose to ignore me and put his car back into drive. He took off slowly onto the gravel. I rolled down my window and let the warm air wash over me. I was filled with paranoid thoughts and Jaden’s silence in the moment was none to pleasing. I breathed in the air, trying to calm myself back down.
Jaden pulled his phone out of his pocket but I never even heard it ring.
“Yeah?” he answered. I studied his expressions but he wasn’t revealing anything. “Because he crossed a line. Tell him to meet me there in twenty minutes but this is the last fucking time.” He folded his phone shut and shoved it back in his pocket.
“Who was that?” I was curious. “I don’t mean to pry.”
“It was Ryan. Chad’s gonna stop by to pick up some smoke.”
“Do you deal to a lot of people?”
“I help out some friends when needed but I’m not a dealer. I don’t want you to think that about me.”
“What else don’t I know about you?”
“Plenty.” He grinned. This was of little comfort as I started to realize I barely knew anything about him. He whipped his car around at full speed and headed back into the country. He drove with haste across the gravel and I was fearful of seeing that man again. Who was he?
A short moment later, we arrived at our destination—a dilapidated barn in the remnants of an old field. He left the car running for me while he went inside. I thought it was best that I stay in the car. He unlocked a padlock and went inside. While I waited, an eerie feeling crept inside of me that I had a hard time shaking. The cornstalks tangoed with the wind and I kept envisioning some creature running out of them at full speed toward me. This whole place was giving me the creeps and I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for Jaden’s return.
He appeared in the doorway a few minutes later and locked up the barn. I could feel his stabbing eyes on my face while I looked up at the sky, a bright gray moon shining directly above us. It was a full moon that night and I hoped it wasn’t a sign that something bad was going to happen. Don’t they always warn you about full moons, people out causing mischief and mayhem?
After he climbed inside, I immediately smelled what he grabbed from inside—weed. A very pungent smelling weed. “Something smells good,” I said.
He pulled a full baggie out of his pocket and my eyes went wide. I had never seen that much at one time. I had always bought smaller bags. I opened the top and took a deep breath. The smell overwhelmed me and I knew it was his special blend, the kind I smoked with him the first time. “You told me got this from someone in town.”
“I do,” he pointed at his chest and grinned, “me.”
“Is this like a grow house?” I said in an almost whisper.
“You don’t have to be so quiet Mina. There aren’t federal agents listening to our conversation.” I grew embarrassed and felt juvenile as he slighted me. I felt his hand touch the side of my face but I continued to stare at my feet. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to worry. I own this land and the police never come out here. They can’t touch me.”
“You’ve said that more than once. Do you have some sort of control over the police? What makes you so different?” He sighed heavily and I could sense his apprehension as he tried to avoid my questions. I crossed my arms against my chest and glared back at him with demanding eyes, not allowing his tactics to triumph this time.
“My family sort of has an agreement with the local law enforcement, has for years. We pay their salaries and they look the other way.” I crinkled my brow and pondered that idea. Was Jaden a criminal? What kind of other things had he gotten away with?
“Okay. Why would they do that? Why does your family get special treatment?”
“It’s just the way it is Mina. It’s not my doing.”
“How am I supposed to take this information? I mean, I can only imagine what lengths your family went to gain such power over the local government.”
“Take it any way you want. There’s nothing I can do about it. Just be lucky that you found a never-ending supply of smoke. You’ll never be out again.”
“Has everyone in your family been growers? Is that how you got your money?” He let out a boisterous laugh and shook his head. “How did your family come into so much wealth?”
“I honestly don’t know. It’s been that way for five generations.” I studied his face, trying to weed out a lie. “You don’t believe me?”
“How can I? You’re so secretive about your past. I don’t know when you’re telling me the truth and when you’re lying.” He grabbed hold of my shoulders and turned my body to face him. I lost my breath in the process.
“I have never lied to you and I never will. I’m trying to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?” I joked.
“From the truth, Mina. Once you open that doorway, you can never go back and...I’m not ready to see the light in your eyes fade as mine has.” Of course, that was as far as he went with his words. If I had taken any of his warnings to heart, I would’ve ran out of his car and moved away from Shadow Heights the next day but I had no fear when I was with him. He was my only solace in this strange place. I was head-over-heels in love with him and no threat from the outside world could change that. But I still wondered—was I foolish for loving him?
Chapter Thirty One
The ramblings of my inner mind were cut short by a phone call. I didn’t want to answer it because I knew who it was—Greg. He always seemed to call at the most inopportune moments. Jaden stared back at me suspiciously as I tried to ignore the ringing distraction at my feet. The sound was drilling into my head, making my heartbeat pound harder.
“Aren’t you going to answer that?” he asked and I shook my head. He grabbed my purse from the floor and pulled out my phone. I could tell he wasn’t pleased when he saw the caller ID but his next action surprised me. He flipped open my phone and answered for me. I wanted to grab it from him but his brawny elbow kept me on guard and I could never reach it.
“Hello,” he answered in a cheerful tone. I raised an eyebrow and listened to his conversation. “Well, apparently, she didn’t feel like talking to you. I have no idea why.”
“Jaden,” I spoke with frustration.
“It was her decision, not mine.” His face lifted into a smile and I desperately wanted to know what Greg was saying. “Those are some tough words coming from such a weak mind.” He chuckled with joy. “Good talking with you.” He closed the phone and placed it back in my purse, sitting it back on the ground near my feet. “Nice guy, your friend.”
“He is,” I answered quickly and his eyes flickered to mine. My phone started ringing again and it was Greg calling back. He was probably worried now. Thanks Jaden. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“You weren’t going to answer. Now why is that? You insist on being his friend but you won’t answer when he calls.”
“I didn’t want you to be angry with me,” I looked away.
“I’m not angry with you. You can be friends with whoever you want.” He ran his pale fingers through his black locks, revealing his long sideburn. “I’m not gonna hide the fact that I don’t like the guy but I won’t prevent you from speaking to him. It kind of offends me that you would think that about me.” I could feel his eyes piercing into my head as he waited for a reply.
“How can I not think that you’d get angry? After the way you treated him and your temper lately, I didn’t want to take any chances.” He continued to stare into my eyes but didn’t respond. “Why have you been so short tempered lately?”
“Because I know you’ll be taken away from me!” he shouted. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I’m not going anywhere Jaden.” I stroked the side of his face.
“Mina...my innocent dear.” His lips touched mine and he looked into my eyes. “You don’t understand. You’re not safe anymore. Seeing that man tonight proves it.” I held my hand out for him to stop.
“Wait. Seeing tha
t man? You did lie to me.” He groaned noisily.
“I didn’t lie. I was covering up the truth.” I laughed with air. “Will you please listen to me?” I gave him my full attention and turned to face him in the seat. “Eventually, you will have to go back in that house and I can’t protect you.”
“I love how you always side-step my questions.” His body tensed up and he clenched his teeth together.
“What if I can’t get there in time to save you? I couldn’t live with myself.”
“I’ll be smarter next time and won’t get myself cornered with no way out.”
“I keep myself awake at night over worry about you. You aren’t in any way prepared for what’s to come and you’re too stubborn to listen. What if he goes into your room while you’re sleeping? What if he pushes you down the stairs?” The hairs on my arms stood on edge and I grew frightened as his words sounded more like predictions than what-ifs.
“You’re scaring me,” I admitted quietly.
“You should be scared. Mina, I’ve been trying to tell you that it isn’t safe.” I avoided his eyes. I was fully aware that he told me that bit of information but I was blinded by his love. I didn’t care whether I lived or died as long as I was with him.
“Has he ever gone into you?” His eyes stayed fixated on the dashboard of the car.
“No, he never has and I don’t think he can. Even as a child he avoided me. He was always more interested in my father.”
“So, what should I do?”
“I think I know why he’s after you.” My eyes widened at his remark. He stared out the window at the barn and began to talk but with more feeling this time, a tinge of remorse in his tone. “There was something I was supposed to finish for my family but I never completed. I was too selfish and uncertain of my desires at the time to go through with it all. But now I can see how my indecisiveness has caused harm to others.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, rather muddled.
“He’s losing strength because of me, because of my failure to go through with their plan. Maybe it was cowardice on my part but after a stern warning from my father, I rushed out of there without looking back or thinking of the consequences I was bestowing upon the people of this town.”
“What are you running from?”
“I refuse to be like my grandfather but the more I try to fight it, the stronger the urge becomes. There's an inherent evil running through my veins. It's in my blood.”
“Jaden, you're nothing like your grandfather. I've seen him in my dreams and I can promise you, you are two very different people.”
“But you're wrong, Mina. You have to understand something about my grandfather. I know it's hard for you to imagine but the power he was able to obtain over his lifetime had corrupted his mind and he was convinced that nothing could stop him, not even death. It is far easier to fall into darkness than it is to remain in the light and he, like all others before him, took the coward's path; and it was his arrogance that led him there.”
“If he died before you were born, how do you know so much about him?”
“After I found out how different I was from those around me, I sought out the reasons why. I started doing my own research but couldn't find anything. It seemed that there was no other documented person in the world who shared this same gift. I was about to give up when I was led to my old house—your house—and somehow I knew exactly where to look. My grandfather had buried his prized works underground along with his journal entries that he had written up until his death.” I could only imagine what morbid things he chose to write about.
“While reading pages from his younger days, I began to understand him and why he became the man he was. He was a brilliant scientist, a genius of genetics, and he had discovered a gateway within the body that allowed him to manipulate DNA.” He looked up after saying this as if he revealed something he wished he hadn't. “To summarize in an easier way, it's because of him that I have this ability so in a weird way, I owe him my life or at least my gratitude. That's how I know we're not so different. It's strange how one thing can take over your entire existence and the efforts you go to in keeping it there.”
He glanced over to see my reaction but I had no expression to give. I felt that he had just read me an old science fiction story and not a family anecdote. I slouched down in my seat as I felt my clothes swallowing me whole. Was Jaden some kind of lab experiment?
“You have to promise you won't tell anyone this.”
I nodded my head. “I swear. So...he's the man I've been seeing?”
“He’s the most likely suspect. That's why you can never underestimate him. He sees all inside this world because he cannot see anything else.”
“How did he get that way? Doomed to live in that house forever.” He could see my mind making connections and was showing signs of regret that he had exposed so much. He probably hadn't expected me to understand anything he just said.
“Even though my family had everything they would ever need, my grandfather was unsatisfied.” His eyes broke away from mine and surveyed the land, making sure no one was listening to our thoughts and continued. “Do you remember when I said I almost had a binding agreement to live here?” I nodded. “Well, it’s sort of true. You see my family is sealed to an unbreakable agreement with someone and over the years, he grew tired of doing this gentleman’s bidding. Without authorization from the higher ups, he took the knowledge he had and turned it into something magnificent. In a way, he wanted to play God and feel its power, to create unique life of his own but this went against his master's plan.”
“Master?” I interrupted. He sucked in his bottom lip.
“I've said too much.” I reached out to touch his arm.
“No, Jaden. Please tell me.” He sighed.
“I can't expose his identity but he's very powerful and has strength not seen in this world. He is the great manipulator of minds and realities. He is able to appear as anything to steal someone's trust, knowing just what you're yearning for. He can put thoughts in your head without you even being aware of them and there is no limit to his creative vision for we are all puppets in his world.” The way Jaden spoke made me believe that this was his real worry all along and not his grandfather but I still had a hard time believing any of this was real.
“If your family knew he was so malicious, why did they agree to make a deal with someone like that?”
“Like any human, they desired things so they were easily playable in his game. In the case of my ancestors, they craved prestige and wealth—a power over the people. They felt like they were above others and believed that people were cattle, easily controlled and willing to do anything for a small wage. Fooled by pride and greed, they consented to this power but in order for them to receive the fruits of their labor, they had to fulfill his desires first—whatever they might be. This grew to be an arduous process with no end in sight and it was too late for them to feel any remorse. They were now more enslaved than the people they sought to control. My grandfather, who could see the flaws in this operation, was envious of his master and the control he had over his family so he took it upon himself to change the rules of the game and seize a new power of his own.”
“What are you trying to say? Your family made a pact with the devil?” He burst into laughter, which was belittling to say the least, but it was the first thing that sprung to my mind. I blame it on the brainwashing I had received in church as a child.
“There is so much you don't understand about this world. It isn't the devil, Mina. He doesn't exist. The devil is a state of mind, if you will, that the powers that be use to control the masses. My family is ascended by something far more real than any modern religion.”
I pulled out a cigarette from my pack and tried to absorb all that he was telling me. I had never been a religious person, almost atheistic but I didn't know where I stood now after all that had happened. The simple fact that there was some existence beyond death was hard enough to accept. “So, what happene
d to your grandfather? Did he eventually go insane?”
“Because of the events that ultimately led to the closure of the orphanage and the unstableness it brought to our bloodline, he took it upon himself to transform our reputation into a more humanitarian one but this was only a ruse to regain the public’s trust. He was very secretive about his dealings and due to his brilliant ability to charm others' minds, nobody in town was the wiser. He managed to turn our home into some sort of science laboratory where he could utilize his knowledge of the human form without anyone noticing the strange things happening inside. He began his experiments, testing them out on various human lab rats but was unable to create a superior being. Convinced that he hadn't found a capable enough human, he began experimenting on his own children and that’s when he discovered that there was something very different about our blood. But not only our blood, our tissues, and brain chemistry were far different in complexity and could withstand harsh treatments not seen in a normal human being. Needless to say, he found what he had been searching for, an escape from his limited existence.”
“So does he have the same power as you?”
“No and this became his greatest demise. He grew jealous over the power his son held over him and went through pain-staking efforts to create the same for himself. Though he tried surreptitiously to experiment on himself, he could never recreate what had already been crafted.”
“So is that why he is being punished?”
“Only part of the reason. I cannot imagine what will happen to me in the end. I can only hope that I won't suffer the same fate as my father,” he said quietly and a trickle of pain radiated into my heart.
“What will happen to you? You haven't done anything wrong.”
“On a morality standpoint maybe but I've abandoned my roots. I've sat on the sidelines for far too long. I denied our nobility and refused to enter into a sacred path of supremacy which was chosen for me before birth. I think that deserves punishment of the most vicious kind.” He sighed heavily. “And he's coming for me, I can feel it. It's my time to begin, to partake in his initiation.” His eyes were glazing over with moisture.
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