by Kimbra Swain
Ashley didn’t come down until the smell of cumin and chili pepper filled the house. She appeared at the doorway.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said astounded.
“What?” I replied as I stirred a fresh bowl of salsa that I made.
“When did you learn to cook? You don’t expect us to eat this do you?” she teased.
“No, you are welcome to starve. And I spent twenty years on an island with little to do. I learned to cook,” I explained.
“I’m still not eating it,” she said.
I sat the bowl of salsa where she could reach it and opened a bag of tortilla chips. I sat them in front of her. “Try it. I dare you,” I said.
She dipped a chip in the salsa and rolled her eyes at me.
“Good?” I asked.
“Yes,” she grumbled. I smiled.
“Why the incredulity?” I asked.
“Because you are already good at too many things,” she explained.
“Oh, sod off,” I said.
She laughed, finally, and ate more chips and salsa. She pulled up a stool from the kitchen bar and tore into it. I was glad I put one bowl of it in the fridge for dinner.
“You okay?” a familiar voice rang in my head.
“Yes, just finishing up dinner,” I replied.
“You are cooking?” he said appearing at the door of the kitchen.
“Yes, is that so hard to believe for you people?”
Ashley laughed.
“You are dripping water everywhere!” I said, realizing he had gotten out of the pool and not dried off.
“We forgot towels,” he admitted.
“Ashley, get the boys some towels. Get back outside,” I ordered him, pointing at the door.
“He looks fabulous without a shirt,” Ashley said.
“Yes, I know,” I admitted to her. “And his hair wet like that, help me.”
She giggled at my admission.
“Is it all the time?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Worse than Lukas,” I asked.
“Much worse.” She went to get towels, and I groaned.
“Just do it,” she called back from across the living room. I heard her going into the downstairs bathroom and pulling out towels. After a few moments, I heard her squeal, and I looked around the corner. Ichiro tried to hug her without drying off. He got her. She complained and whined. “Now I have to change clothes,” she said.
“I know,” he said, pulling her toward the stairs. She blushed, and I went back to finishing up dinner. I cut up lettuce and tomato for toppings. Everything else was done. Tadeas came in the room behind me and used his towel to wipe up the puddle he made earlier on the floor.
“All dried up,” he said. “It smells great.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
“Poor Ichiro,” he said.
I laughed. “I think they are okay now.”
“Yeah, seems so. What did you say to her?” he asked. “You told me you’d tell me when we got back.”
“I did tell you that, and I will. Why don’t you go get clothes on for dinner, and we can talk about it after dinner?” I said.
“Are you avoiding this conversation?”
“Yes, and you know that I am. Please?” I begged. I wasn’t in the mood to tell him at the moment. I wanted to have a nice dinner with everyone. Not fight with him.
“Only because you begged,” he said and trotted off upstairs. I watched him go. “You are looking again.”
“I am not!” I was, and I couldn’t help myself.
Everyone arrived for dinner, except for Ichiro and Ashley who showed up a few minutes late. We had a nice family style dinner with decent food, and old stories about our adventures before I left for the island. Afterwards, Tadeas helped me do dishes like we had done on the island. It was a familiar, comforting routine.
We joined the others on the back patio. Tony lit torches around the pool, and the fire lights flickered over the water. Frogs and other nocturnal creatures sang a strange song in the night. Ashley had her laptop out watching check-ins.
“Anything new?” I asked her.
“No, everyone is checking in. All is quiet,” she said. “Oh, but Lukas called earlier when I was upstairs. He needs you to call him.”
I nodded and realized I left my phone upstairs. Tadeas handed it to me, “I saw it and brought it down before dinner. You had several missed calls. I’m sorry. I forgot about it.”
“It’s okay,” I looked at the caller information. I sighed as I saw three missed calls from Lukas. “I need to call him back.” He nodded, and I stepped to the other side of the pool sitting down on lounge chair. I propped my feet up and relaxed as the phone rang.
“Castille,” he answered.
“Hey, sorry, I left my phone upstairs while we had dinner,” I said.
“It’s okay. It’s taken care of now,” he said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Cassidy,” he answered.
“What about her? Her father met up with us today at the funeral,” I stated.
“Crap. Is everything alright?” he asked.
“Just a father looking for his daughter,” I replied.
“You tell him where she was?” he asked.
“No, but he asked me to train her.”
“That’s strange.”
“Very, and I really didn’t want to train her. She doesn’t want to be trained. What did she do now?” I asked.
“She has Vincent wound up. She’s laying it on pretty thick,” he said. “I suppose there is no harm in it. He knows what she is.”
“Yeah, but I’d rather she keeps her paws off my team. She sent emails to Tadeas,” I said.
“You can’t have all of us to yourself.”
“Keep dreaming, Castille,” I laughed.
“Yes, I woke up from that dream twenty years ago,” he said quietly. My heart ached at his tone. My flippant remark caused him pain, and I needed to control my tongue. He deserved better from me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I looked up across the pool, and Tadeas watched me intently. I knew he could hear me. I nodded at him, and he walked around to where I sat. He shared the chair with me. The warmth of his body was comforting.
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have said that, Abby. Do you need us to come to Atlanta?” he asked. “I might like a change of scenery.”
“We had a family dinner tonight. I actually cooked, but it was incomplete without all of you here. We are going into the office tomorrow. I’ll let you know what we need, but right now it seems like we might be in Atlanta for a while. If you are sure that everything will be stable on the West Coast, then I’d say you all could come out this way,” I replied. “Do I need to speak to Cassidy?”
“No, I handled it. I’m staying away from her, Abby,” he said.
“That wasn’t my business either, Lukas. I should have stayed out of it,” I said.
“You were right about her. She’s trouble. I don’t need that right now.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow and give you an update. If you guys find out anything new, let us know as soon as possible.”
“I will.” He hung up.
“Ash, get in touch with Aiden and see if he and Fayola can leave what they are doing. I’d like them to join us here too,” I said across the pool to her.
She looked up to me, and her eyes darkened. She pulled an envelope out of her soft briefcase where she kept her laptop. She walked over and handed it to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know when would be the right time.” She walked back around the pool and gathered her things. Ichiro and Tony followed her inside, leaving Tadeas and me alone on the chair by the pool. I looked down at the white envelope. On the front of the envelope, my first name, Abby, was written.
“You need a minute?” Tadeas asked.
“No, stay please,” I said. I opened the envelope and unfolded the hand-written letter.
“Dear Abby, I wish I could have told you to face
to face. You deserved that much from me. From both of us. I can’t thank you enough for all the opportunities to travel the world, and the funds you provided for my research and projects. Thank you for loving us like family. Fayola and I are so pleased that you are back in the field and continuing your work. We, however, need a break from the madness. It seemed from just the last few days at the compound that events were escalating to a point where everything would be a whirlwind again. We need to take the time for us now. I’m sorry to leave you at this critical time, but please consider this my resignation. I am aware of all the bindings required by the Agency, and you know that Fayola and I will obey all of those. Ashley will send me all the exit paperwork, and I’ll return it to you as soon as possible. We will be taking the option for new identities. I wish you all the best. Sincerely, Aiden Haider.”
I handed the letter to Tadeas, and he read it. He looked up at me. “Why now?”
“I don’t blame him. It is going to get worse before it gets better. That’s why nights like tonight are so important,” I replied. Aiden worked with the team for almost 50 years. He and Fayola got married not long before Lincoln died. It was a beautiful ceremony. One of the few weddings I’d attended in my life. Fayola aged, because she was mortal. Aiden was a shifter. He technically should outlive her by centuries, but I imagined he would not live much longer than her. They were connected by the heart.
“Part of your family just bailed on you,” he said.
“No. They made the best choice for their life. I cannot be angry with them,” I said.
“But you are sad,” he said leaning back in the chair and looked at the stars above us.
I leaned back with him and put my head on his chest. “Yes, I am.”
We laid there and listened to the chorus sang by the frogs and cicada. After a little while he said, “Tell me about Ashley.”
I sighed, because I knew this was coming. Tadeas could never leave anything alone, and I loved that about him. “Ashley is having multiple premonitions, and it’s getting on her nerves.”
“Premonitions about what?” he asked innocently. I sighed again.
“About us,” I put it simply.
“What about us?” he continued to probe.
“Tadeas! About us. Together,” I explained further.
“Oh,” he finally got it. “That’s weird.”
I laughed. “Yes, it’s a little strange. I mean it’s not the first time she’s seen that kind of thing with almost all of us.” I tried to make it sound less weird, but only made it sound worse.
“Geez,” he groaned. “What do we do about it? I mean, if we do what she’s seeing, will it stop?”
This conversation reached the upper limit of my comfort zone. “I don’t know.”
“No wonder you didn’t want to talk about it before,” he laughed.
“It’s not funny,” I said as I nervously laughed too.
“Apparently it is,” he returned.
“No, it’s just ridiculously uncomfortable,” I said, raising up to look him in the eye. He was uncomfortable too, which surprised me. Usually nothing rattled him.
“The Bo staffs arrived earlier. I guess while we were at the funeral. They are sitting on the table in the foyer. I forgot to tell you,” he adeptly changed the subject.
“Good, now I can kick your ass,” I said.
“You realize that is highly unlikely,” he stated.
“You ready to test that theory?” I needed a distraction.
The earth rumbled for just a moment. His eyes widened. I jumped up off the chair and looked around. It rumbled again. The sounds of the night ceased. It rumbled again a little louder. He stood behind me and stared into the darkness. “Earthquake?”
“No,” I said. I reached out with my magical senses. Rumble, slightly louder. I closed my eyes and concentrated. “Oh shit!”
Tony came running out the back door followed by Ash and the doc. “What the hell?” he exclaimed.
“Get back inside,” I said quietly, but loud enough to hear. He turned and shoved the two of them inside. “Turn off the lights!”
Tadeas rushed around the pool and capped all the torches one by one. Each time he capped one the ground shook and got louder. “Abby! What is it?”
“Ogre,” I said as a hulking beast stepped over the privacy fence to the right of me, and Tadeas froze looking at it. He stood 9 feet tall, and his skin looked like craggy stone cliffs. His yellow eyes stared down at the dark pool. All the torches were out except one. He locked eyes with me.
“Fairy lady, good food!” he exclaimed.
“Abby!” Tadeas yelled, and the ogre turned to him.
“Oooo, kitty good food, too,” he growled.
“Fuck,” Tadeas said. “What do we do?”
“I need the staff. I’ll keep him occupied. Go get it!”
“I’m not leaving you,” he said.
“Go now, damn it!” he bolted into the darkness of the house.
“Kitty wants to play! Fun!”
“Hey big guy!” I screamed at him. “I thought you came here for me!”
“I eat you too! I haven’t had fairy lady in a long time!” he grumbled.
“You got to catch me first,” I said as tore off down the hill toward the boat dock next to the lake.
He clapped his large mitts and laughed. “Yay, fun game!” Ogres are not known for their intelligence, but the only way to kill them is to do enough bodily harm to them until they die as you would any other being. The problem was that their skin resembled rocks more than skin. There wasn’t a soft spot on the whole body, except for the back of the neck at the base of his skull. I put a shield up on myself as I ran. He could knock me down, but it wouldn’t do much damage other than a normal fall. However, the shield would only last for one hit.
“I’m running down the hill toward the lake,” I told Tadeas.
“On my way,” he said.
As I ran, I looked back over my shoulder as the ogre rumbled after me. He took one big swipe, and his big hand pounded me to the ground. I stumbled and rolled. As I tried to regain my footing, I saw a black shadow move on my right side. Tadeas in jaguar form pounced out of the shadows, dropping the staff next to me.
“Go, back over there. Don’t let him catch you.” He growled at me, and I gave him a stern look, pointing at the trees. The ogre watched us for a moment, and he started to swing at Tadeas. Tadeas jumped back into the trees and crouched in the shadows. He closed his eyes so I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him there.
“Here kitty, kitty,” the ogre said.
I laughed. I couldn’t hold it back. “Okay big guy, come get me.” I said to him and snapped the staff out to full length. “Fulmen.” I charged the staff with my lightning spell. Tendrils of golden lighting raced up and down the staff. He stood in amazement.
“Pretty stick,” he said.
“Come play with the pretty stick,” I said, as he swung his massive stone arm at me. Timing my jump, he just missed me, and I rolled toward him. I jabbed him in the ribs with the staff. It sizzled against his rock skin, and he yowled. The sound rippled across the lake and echoed off the banks of the island across from us.
“Ouch! Pretty stick hurts,” he whined. He swiped around at me several times. I managed to avoid him and finally got in position where the incline dropped off to the edge of the lake. I stood along the flood wall waving the staff around to get his attention. “I’m tired of game. I eat you now.”
The boulder man lunged toward me as Tadeas stalked up behind him. I had no idea what he thought he could do with this beast, but I kept my mouth shut. He knew the risk, and nothing I could say would stop him. The ogre sensed him and turned and swiped his long arm toward Tadeas.
“Jag!” I screamed.
Tadeas dodged the first fist, but the second one connected with his hind legs. His limp form flew into the tree line and out of my sight in the darkness.
“Tadeas, talk to me!” I panicked.
No answer. Dispat
ching this beast to get to Tadeas was my only thought.
With his back turned to me, I charged the ogre and jumped on his back. I latched my legs around his ribs, riding him like a horse. I pulled the staff back above my head. He twisted and turned as he tried grabbing me, but I had positioned myself on his back where his arms couldn’t reach me. He tripped over the flood wall, and I almost lost my grip. “Impingo!” I shouted and slammed the staff into the base of his neck. With the force behind the magic combined with my own strength, the staff split open his rock-hard skin. It sank deeply into his neck at the base of his skull and crackled as it touched his body. He screamed a loud gravelly yell and twisted out into the edge of the lake trying to grab it. Before I could untangle myself from his back, he grabbed me in his fist and squeezed. I yelled in pain as he crushed me.
When an ogre died, it turned to stone much like the trolls in fantasy tales. The big oaf meandered out into the lake and started turning to stone from the neck outward. I couldn’t get away from him. Struggling against his grip, I fought in vain as inch by inch he turned to rock.
“Let go of me, stupid blockhead!” I screamed.
His legs continued to carry him deeper in to the lake. I strained to breathe and tried to think of a spell to split the stone. But, I became dizzy and all I could think about was the pain pulverizing my body. As the last of his life drained and his left leg turned to stone, he tilted sinking into the water. I sucked in one last pained breath of oxygen as I sank with him in his stony grip. Hoping that Tadeas survived and would somehow save me once again, I trembled as imminent death crept in on my soul. The water around me stopped moving except what I stirred. I could see the moon above the lake reflecting down into the water. Across the moon, a flock of black birds darkened its glow. Ravens.
I started beating on the stone with my fists which was utterly pointless, but I ran out of options. My lungs burned as they used the last of the oxygen that I had held in. The silence under the surface continued as the birds circled above the water. I gently blew the air out of my lungs hoping to prolong my agony. My involuntary reflexes kicked in, and I sucked in a mouth full of water. The pain of gagging with no way to expel the water passed through my throat and lungs. Drowning sucked.