by Leyton, Bisi
“No. What? Where are you going?” she muttered breathlessly, because for a second, she was stunned at his abrupt change. Stupid, stupid, he was leaving. Why did you go and say something? She slapped her hand over her mouth, hoping he hadn’t heard.
It took him less than a second to pin her against the tree again. His green eyes pierced into her essence. “What do you mean, where am I going?”
“Nothing; just go Bach. I’ve said all I need to say.” She wasn’t making much sense, but she couldn’t think of anything better. “I love Steven and I wish I had never met you.”
“You are saying that to hurt me. This is not you,” Bach deduced. “What if I said, I hate you Wisteria? Do you like hearing that?”
Wisteria kept a stony face, but those words cut her deeply. “It doesn’t matter.” She kept her voice strong.
“I love Radala and I am going to pledge to her.”
“That’s fine, too.” She even managed a smirk, but he was hurting her and he looked like he was enjoying it.
“That is what you want, Wisteria? Me to be with another girl—what the hell are you doing?” His eyes shot down to her fingers.
Looking down, she saw she was stroking his biceps. “Nothing.” She jerked her hands back.
“D’cara, why are you doing this?” He banged his head against the tree. “You are toying with me.”
“Bach—”
“I am tired of doing this alone.” He sounded broken, but forced a weak smile. “I hate that you are still lying to me.”
“I’m sorry.” She braced herself for what she was going to say next. “I’m sorry that you don’t understand what I’m saying. Maybe you should ask your girlfriend to explain it to you. Radala--remember her, the one you’re going to pledge to?” Mentioning the girl’s name made Wisteria wake up from her foolish haze. He’d been with someone else and he still was. He’d moved on.
Digging his hands into his pockets, he backed away. “We will talk tomorrow.”
Wisteria straightened up. Her mother may be a liar, but she was still her mother’s daughter and she wasn’t going to be weepy and pathetic anymore. Right now, she was playing with her mother’s life. And, it wasn’t like Bach would be cool if he discovered that Lara had played a part in his mother’s murder. “Not about this, Bach. This conversation is over.”
The backdoor opened and Jenny appeared, untying her yellow apron. She smiled and waved.
It grew silent behind her. “Are you still here?” Wisteria whispered.
“Goodnight,” he said softly, and before she could respond, he kissed her lightly on the cheek and sprinted away.
“He has it bad for you,” Jenny drawled when Wisteria re-entered the house. “You should cut him a break.”
“I am.” Wisteria closed the door. “I don’t have time for boys.”
The woman chuckled. “You say that now, but I’m sure you had a few admires back wherever you came from. What was it called again?”
“Yes, they were breaking down doors to date me.” Wisteria didn’t want to get into any conversation with Jenny about Smythe. “But I’m guessing biters don’t count. Besides, he has a girlfriend.”
“He wasn’t acting like he had one,” Jenny observed.
“Do you have a map of the town?” Wisteria changed the subject. It was painful enough thinking about what had just happened, without replaying it with Jenny. “I’d like to take a look around tomorrow.”
“A map? I’ve got this. They made it when we first got here.” Jenny rummaged through a drawer and handed her a tattered newspaper. “But all you need to know is that shops and offices are on either Main Street or Eighteenth Street.”
The wahr-chart was far better than a map, if Wisteria could ever get a handle on it.
“Alan is my dad.” Del walked over to the counter where they stood. “He was a social worker in Queens.”
“I already told her, Mr. Know-It-All,” Jenny quipped. “I also told her that you are our wonderful child. Maybe you should get ready for bed?”
Wisteria glanced over at the boy briefly. He didn’t look anything like Alan, the man Christopher had introduced her to earlier. Unfolding the paper, she saw it was a map of town. “Thanks.”
Later that night, as she brushed her teeth before getting into bed, she noticed a black spot on her neck. Looking closer, she saw it was a shana spot. Shutting her eyes and breathing slowly, she counted to ten. When she opened her eyes, the spot was gone.
Trembling, she sank down to the bathroom floor. She had to get herself under control. If Bach had seen this he’d know she was still completely in love with him, and that would make it impossible for her to keep the blackmailed arrangement she had with his brothers.
*****
Bach reached Marble House, furious. He could not believe Wisteria had rejected him after he had humiliated himself yet again.
Climbing onto the roof, he sat up there contemplating what to do. Somewhere, in Franklin, was his brother and maybe his child. With these people being RZC, he feared something terrible had already happened to Lluc.
How was he going to find them, and deal with Wisteria’s erratic behavior? Also, there was Radala, his actual girlfriend. He had to end his relationship with Radala; that way he would have one less complication. She meant more to him than a complication, he had really cared about her, but seeing Wisteria again made being with anyone else impossible.
“D’cara.” He cursed himself for being so pathetic and easily distracted. Once he found his brother and his son, he would sort out this issue with Wisteria. If something had happened to his brother, if the empirics had gotten here and murdered Lluc the way they had almost killed him, Bach did not know if he would be able handle that. He loved Lluc more than anyone, except Wisteria. Squatting, he closed his eyes. What if his brother was gone? All the pain from losing his brother would wash back over him.
He would need her, because losing Lluc once was hard enough, but twice was unbearable. He could not face it alone. How was he going to convince her to love him again? Could he return to Smythe and live there again? They sure as hell could not live in this community. Not after he saw the silver-haired woman Wisteria lived with. There was something about her that was familiar, but he could not place it.
Climbing off the roof, he landed quietly on the ledge, outside Radala’s window. The curtains of the dark room were not drawn, and he could easily see in the dark. He was about to knock on her window to get her attention, but paused at what he saw inside.
Radala had Enric pressed against the wall as she kissed him.
Enric seemed shocked, and almost reluctant, as the shorter girl leveraged herself deeper into a passionate kiss. Normally, they would have heard Bach, but The Family’s senses were duller when they were distracted.
Enric was a big guy, a trainee sentinel and one of the strongest Famila Bach knew, so if he wanted Radala off him, he could do it in seconds. Enric could not want this? He was too loyal a friend to ever betray Bach, unless she was manipulating him, or somehow making him do it.
The longer he watched, the angrier he got at Enric for doing this to him. In many ways though, he was relieved. Breaking up with Radala should be easier after this. But, he did not expect Enric to do this. Outside of his bloodline, there was no one else he trusted more. Radala had to be behind this.
“What is it?” she whispered to Enric.
“I hate lying to him. He is my best friend.”
“Once we are back home and he is far away from Wisteria, we will tell him everything,” she whispered. “That was what he promised Yordi.”
“It will crush him.”
“No, he will only be annoyed, because he is proud.” Radala stroked Enric’s hair. “Not because I have hurt him. Bach does not love me. I know he tries hard to, but he is a guy who will end up alone.”
Enric’s interest in Radala was clarified when he drew her into his arms and kissed her again.
Having seen enough, Bach knocked on the glass before open
ing the window.
Enric’s head dropped when he saw him.
“Bach, we—” Radala rushed toward him.
“You stay away from me,” he barked.
“If you should be angry at anyone, it is going to be me.” Enric approached him.
“Why? Did you make the first move?” Bach frowned.
“Seriously, Bach? You are going to judge me?” Radala gasped. “After you kissed that girl?”
“Radala—” Enric began.
“No, he made out with someone else. He told me! I am sorry. I do not feel bad for him.”
“And how does Yordi fit into all of this?” Bach wanted to know.
“Enric needed Wisteria to use the wahr-chart; Yordi wanted me to ensure you returned to the home realm when we were finished,” Radala revealed.
“Why did Yordi send me if he did not trust me?”
“Yordi trusts you not to betray him,” Enric replied.
“He sent you to watch over me, so why did he not send you to get Lluc?” Bach pointed out.
“Lluc trusts you more than he could ever trust me. Yordi knows if Lluc needed to be convinced to return to The Family, you would be able to do it,” Enric explained.
“You were using me? Yordi must think I am the biggest fool because I am so easily deceived by my so-called friends.” He could not believe, once again, he had been tricked. “How serious is this?”
“Once we are back, Enric will name me as his intended,” she continued.
“This started before I left the home realm?”
“We fell in love shortly before your father was attacked, but nothing happened until days ago,” Enric continued.
“When I kissed that other girl?" Bach sighed.
“I feel bad about lying, but I am not what you want—”
“Radala,” Bach put a hand on her shoulder. “I am serious. I am not upset with you at all. In fact, if it was not Enric, I would be happy.”
Enric walked up to Radala and whispered, “I want to talk to him.”
“Please, do not blame Enric for this,” she implored as she left.
“Do not expect me to apologize when I can smell your Terran on you. You do not deserve Radala.” Enric stormed out.
“I know I do not, but you were going to do this anyway. There was no way you could have known what I was going to do.”
“I saw you in Manchester. Are you that weak?” Enric gasped. “You betrayed me the moment you went back to her.”
“Betrayed you? That does not make any sense.”
“We have had this conversation too many times for me to count. So if you need my help to find your brother, you must leave the Terran alone.”
“Enric—”
“You think she ever loved you? She left you after all you did for her! Have you forgotten? You had to grovel on your hands and knees, in front of your father, in public for hours at a time, for days until the Sen forgave you. Or you would have died alone.”
“We are here to find Lluc,” Bach reminded him. “Help or not, but I will succeed. Do not cause any harm to Wisteria or our friendship dies.”
“You would not pick me over that . . . Terran?”
“And you are never to call her, or anyone else, Terran, ever.”
“No, that Terran poisoned you.”
“I am going to assume that was a slip.” Bach punched Enric in the face.
The strike was fast enough, so it caught Enric by surprise and he fell back.
“I said never to say that word,” Bach warned him.
CHAPTER TEN
The next morning, Wisteria awoke in the Raubacher’s basement guest room as a cold breeze blew over her. Pulling the blanket over her head, she sunk into the sofa bed. Wisteria still couldn’t believe these people were living so well. How was this possible?
The last time she’d been this cold was last winter in Smythe. The whole family slept in one room so they could run one fireplace and save on fuel. And these people had air-conditioning?
Pushing the weirdness and wonders of Franklin out of her mind, she plotted out her day. Search for her son, help locate Lluc, and get back home. She’d see if she could get the wahr-chart to locate her boy, then she’d creep out of the house before anyone was awake.
After a quick shower, she dressed and grabbed her backpack. She hunted for her sword, but remembered her father had taken her weapons. When she got to the backdoor, she saw a short balding man coming in.
It was Alan, Jenny’s husband. “Hello again.”
She looked at him blankly and stepped back.
“You’re heading out early?”
“I wanted to go for a walk.”
“Um, okay. Well, we serve breakfast at seven, so if you’re not here, Jenny will have a plate for you in the oven,” Alan said warmly. “You might want to think about taking a bottle of water with you. We can’t drink the table water.” He walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” She took the bottle and went out through the backdoor.
“If you’re not back for lunch, help yourself to anything in the fridge,” he called after her. “Have fun!”
Wisteria found it odd that Alan hadn’t asked her where she was going. Even though she was eighteen, her mother and Coles always demanded to know where she was going. Heading toward the gates of Jenny and Alan’s house, she saw Radala standing in the front garden.
“Human.” Radala laughed.
She was startled to see the girl, but glad Bach hadn’t come himself. “What are you doing here? Were we supposed to meet this morning?”
“No, Bach left hours ago to map the town, and Enric left an hour later to do something,” Radala replied.
“What? Does he know something?”
“I doubt it. They are not speaking to each other, so while they are being babies, I decided you should take another look at the wahr-chart and see where Lluc is.”
“You decided this? I thought you only did what Bach wanted?”
“What?” Radala shoved Wisteria aside.
Wisteria careened across the path, her face scraping against an outside wall of the house.
“Your jokes are not funny.” Radala came over, laughing. “Do not ever say that again.”
“You’re crazy,” Wisteria rasped, getting to her feet.
“Did I hurt you?” Radala was still amused.
“Am I bleeding?”
“Yes, on your cheek.” Radala pointed. “I did hurt you. Your people are not that strong. I did not know you bruised so easily. I am sorry.”
“What did you say?” Any kind of apology was unusual to hear from a Famila.
“I said, sorry.” She cocked an eyebrow. “Why--do you not want me to apologize?”
“No, it’s just strange. Not a lot of your people apologize to humans.” She touched her bleeding cheek.
“Let me help you with that.” Radala grabbed Wisteria’s neck and sent a powerful shock down her spine.
“Ouch! You shocked me.” Wisteria tugged the other girl’s hands away.
“You feel better?”
She touched her cheek and found that the scrape was already healing. “You regenerated me?”
“Sure, but only a bit. If I pulsed you like a Famila, you would have passed out.”
“Thank you, but why—why did you do that? Members of The Family never touch my people, unless they’re trying to kill us.”
“It is true. I do not touch humans, but since we are friends—”
“You think we’re friends?” Wisteria glared at Radala, truly convinced the girl was mad.
“Yes.”
“You and Enric abducted me from my home and forced me to get the wahr-chart working. How can that make us friends?” Wisteria exclaimed, and walked off.
“We borrowed you. Enric will take you back. I am from the Second Pillar; my Pillar does not keep Thayns,” Radala explained, as if Wisteria was supposed to understand what the significance of that was.
Wist
eria turned back to her. “You are from The Family and The Family keeps Thayns.”
“I know it is very odd, but we find it—”
“Inhumane?”
“Unhygienic.” Radala nodded as they walked. “Thayns carry a lot of diseases.”
“How can you say things like that and also think we’re friends?”
“What kinds of things?” Radala replied bewilderedly. “Humans have literally millions of sicknesses. I heard you have to vaccinate children because it is so bad.”
“Hang on--You're afraid of catching a human illness? I thought The Family was immune to human diseases. You know? That’s why you’re immune to Nero.”
“But why take the risk? That is what my Pillar thinks.” Radala wiped the sweat from her forehead. “So, I just—”
“So is this is how you talk to your friends?”
“If you were a Famila girl, I would have punched you by now, but yes.”
“I see.”
“I have no problem with your people, personally. Granted, you are not as advanced and are physically inferior, but that does not mean you are not interesting.”
“Radala, can I ask you an honest question? Have you thought about what you sound like from my standpoint? How would you feel if I told you that you were inferior?”
The taller girl paused to think. “I know I would be confused, because it is not true.”
“No, but—”
“It is a fact, so why are you are upset? I mean, it makes the fact that you nearly overpowered Enric in Smythe astounding. I will never let him forget that.” Radala laughed. “That is a big part of why he hates you.”
“Yeah, right. I am sure it’s the biggest.”
“He is also envious of your ability to help the Sen-Son, when he could not.”
If Radala was right, this added to the list of the many things Enric hated about Wisteria.
“Enric does not have a lot of friends, mainly because he is a condescending ass. When his father died, and his sister went into the bridewell, his circle shrunk.”
“The next thing you’re going to say is he means well,” Wisteria quipped dryly.