by Kim Cormack
Zach had been patiently waiting outside for her. He chuckled, “What do you have there?” He wandered up and stroked the tiny feline in her arms.
Frost appeared from beside the house. His eyes softened as he saw her. He smiled and said, “You know you can’t keep that.” He held open his hands and Kayn passed him the kitten. “It’s time to search the school. There’s no demons in there. We’d know that much already. I’ve got fluffy here. Go and catch up with the others you two.”
Zach and Kayn wandered over to the inconspicuous looking elementary school. There wasn’t anything dangerous in the building but there was something. She could sense it. Maybe it was more kittens?
Lexy looked back at them as they approached. She questioned, “You feel it too, don’t you?”
Kayn nodded and said, “There’s something.”
They shoved open the weighted double doors at the entrance and methodically made their way down the dimly lit hall, searching each classroom they passed. There was something here. She sensed life of some kind. That was the only way to explain it. The group searched each room thoroughly. The walls of the long hall were adorned with pictures students had drawn. She hadn’t fought any children last night. Where had they gone? Kayn reached up and touched one of the pictures. Directly under the picture was a snapshot of the little girl that created it. Mary was five years old. She liked the movie, ‘Frozen’ and her favorite food was spaghetti. Something was drawing her towards the room at the end of the hall. Kayn left the group and Lexy followed her. She hesitated before opening the final door and glanced back at Lexy. She nodded as she tried the door. It was locked. That’s strange? Kayn laid her ear against the wood. She could hear giggling. What in the hell? Instinct told her that there was nothing to fear but there was something she needed to protect. They both shoved on the door at the same time, the lock broke and it swung open. They heard tiny feet scurrying around in the darkness. Lexy reached over and flicked on the light. On one side of the room, three toddlers cowered in the corner. There was a yellow aura around the babies.
Lexy’s jaw dropped. She whispered, “Do you know what that aura means?”
Kayn recalled hearing about it but she’d never seen it for herself. These children were all possible second tiers. They might have abilities.
“I thought the yellow haze was around the newly claimed?” She whispered.
Lexy responded, “It is. The glow means they’ve been Corrected and survived. I’ll need to check to see if they’ve been marked. I think someone is trying to break the rules.” She knelt down on the ground and whispered, “Little ones. We’ve come to take you home.”
The three toddlers hesitantly came out of the corner and shyly moved towards where Lexy was kneeling on the floor. Kayn knelt beside her so she’d be less of an intimidating presence. She recognized one of the toddlers. It was the little boy from the picture in the basement where she’d found the kitten. She whispered, “I have an idea.” Kayn slowly stood up so she wouldn’t upset the little ones. She stuck her head out of the door and motioned for Frost. They all began making their way down the hall and sure enough Frost still had the kitten in his arms. He hadn’t wanted to let it go either. That big softy. She pointed at Frost, nodded and motioned him closer. She needed the kitten. He placed it in her arms and she slipped back into the room. She knelt, looked at the little boy and whispered, “Look who I have here.” The child’s face exploded into an enormous grin and he ran towards her. She placed the kitten in his arms and whispered, “Is this your kitty?” The little boy nodded and cuddled it against him. There was something in the way that he moved. His mannerisms were so familiar. It couldn’t be… She knew his name. “Matty?” she whispered. “Is that you?”
The child nodded. He smiled and squeaked, “Kay.”
Her heart skipped a beat as shivers crept across her skin. How was this possible? Her older brother had died almost three years ago, in his early twenty’s. Matt died trying to protect her. Her lips parted in disbelief as she opened her arms to receive him. Matty placed the kitten on the floor and dove into her arms, with the blind trust of a child that had always known and loved her. She embraced him as tears of insurmountable joy trailed down her cheeks. Kayn whispered his name against the nape of his neck, “Matty it’s you. It’s really you.” With her vision obscured by the flood of tears flowing from her eyes, Kayn looked up at the group gathered at the door and gasped, “How is this possible?”
Lily eyes were filled with tears as she came into the room and knelt beside Kayn. She whispered, “Hi Matty. Do you remember me?”
Matty kept embracing Kayn as the cherub faced angel met Lily’s curious eyes and nodded. Lily whispered, “I guess you’ve finally earned your wings.” She stood up and left the classroom in tears.
Kayn heard Lexy say, “These toddlers haven’t been marked for Abaddon yet. Finding them and holding them captive until they’re of age is completely against the rules.”
Kayn’s heart tightened as she embraced the reincarnation of her brother. He wasn’t mortal this time around. How was she going to protect him when nobody had been able to protect her? Kayn said, “We have to keep them safe. There has to be somewhere we can hide them until we can find out what’s going on.”
“There is,” Frost piped in from his spot in the doorway. “I’ve already called them and they’re on their way.”
Kayn peered up at Frost. He was grinning at the momentary happiness she’d found.
He knelt beside Kayn and sweetly said, “Hey little man. I remember you.”
The cherub faced toddler smiled at him. Kayn could tell that Matty also remembered him. She’d never seen Frost interact with a child before and it did something to her. Even though she knew she could never have a child of her own, without serious repercussions, she found herself imagining what it would have been like to have one with him. It was a beautiful, yet silly and ultimately useless thought.
Frost stood up, squeezed her shoulder and whispered, “I’ll explain everything once we’re alone. He’s going to be alright. They’ll hide him and take care of him until he’s old enough to be claimed. The Aries Group has hidden quite a few orphaned second tiers for us in the past.”
She didn’t want to let Matty go but she knew she had to. The life they lived was no life for a child. She just needed to hold the reincarnated version of the brother she adored for a moment longer. The happiness she felt was tainted by the knowledge that Matthew’s life would not be the simple existence he’d had the last time around. Her brother’s soul had been given a bump up the food chain. She glanced up as she heard a flash as Zach took a picture. He wasn’t allowed to do that. He took a few more pictures of the other toddlers and slipped his cell back in his pocket.
Frost winked at her and whispered, “I didn’t see a thing.” There was a loud clank alerting them that the doors had been opened, followed by the humming of voices. Frost stuck his head out of the door and warned, “They’re here. Say whatever you need to say. Lexy is already over there explaining the situation.”
Kayn held Matty tighter. The miniature version of her brother seemed to be lapping up her adoration. She whispered in the toddler’s ear, “These people are going take good care of you. We’ll see each other again. I promise.” He seemed to understand. She forced herself to let him go and rose to stand by his side, protectively keeping one hand on his head.
Zach caught the little black kitten and placed it back in Matty’s arms. The tiny version of her brother snuggled with the kitten and smiled up at her. She knew they couldn’t keep him. He’d need to be hidden away until he was old enough to fight. She pulled him against her as a well-dressed lady strolled into the room. The lady introduced herself and asked the children to come with her. They followed her out of the room. Matty turned around and looked back at her.
The miniature version of her brother spoke a full almost decipherable sentence in an adorable squeaky voice, “Goo bye Kay.”
“Wait!” Kayn called to the lady
. She paused and looked back at Kayn. “His name is Matt. He likes to be called Matty.”
The lady gave her an understanding nod as she ruffled the toddler’s hair and introduced herself, “Well, it’s lovely to meet you Matty.” Matty beamed up at her as they wandered out the door.
Kayn stood there, attempting to compose herself. She blinked away the tears each time they formed in her eyes and took a deep shuddering breath as the others walked away. Zach placed his arm around her, tugged her into a partial hug and guided her out of the room. He didn’t need to say anything. He was probably wishing one of those children had been a member of his family. The problem with feeling happiness was that it allowed things to surface that she’d rather not think about. Emotions that were better left buried. Shut it off. She willed her heart to do what she needed to get through the rest of this day. Shut it off.
Zach sensed what she was trying to do. He spun around, cupped both of her cheeks in his warm hands and looked into her eyes as he scolded, “Don’t you dare. You have to feel the hard stuff sometimes. You can’t always take the easy way out.”
Maybe, he was right about that but it was too late. It was already done. She stared blankly into his eyes as she responded to his plea, “It’s already done Zach. I’m just using it as a bandage to get through the rest of today.” He appeared to be disappointed in her. She didn’t care. They stepped out of the school just as the trio of toddlers was being loaded into a vehicle. She felt nothing about it as they drove away. A thought entered her mind. Perhaps it showed more strength to feel the pain and get through it. Maybe next time.
Grey addressed the whole group at once, “Lily went back to the cabin with the truck to collect our things. Some members of the Aries group are collecting DNA samples from the bodies in the freezers. There’s no need to go back to the cabin. We can leave as soon as she gets back. Both groups had to leave the state. I guess they had a run in with Triad. We’ll be hoteling it until we catch up with them.”
They all sat down on the curb of the sidewalk to wait. The others were joking around but she was just listening. Aware that things were funny yet unable to respond. She was embracing the peace inside of her mind. There was nothing. No anger, no sadness… nothing at all. She closed her eyes and waited for the steady hum of the trucks tires. She was capable of such dark things and yet, the purpose of this darkness had been to maintain the light. She’d played a part in preserving the balance between good and evil. This was why Dragons were created. A feeling stirred within her, even though she wasn’t ready for it. It was pride. Kayn was proud of what she’d accomplished. She opened her eyes to the whirling hum of approaching tires. And now, she was ready to turn the page…
What Happens in Vegas?
The six Ankh drove for a full day and night, only stopping to trade off drivers. They came to a unanimous decision while cruising through Vegas. They were stopping for the night. Kayn was absolutely exhausted from travelling but excited at the same time. She’d never been to Vegas before. They chose a hotel off the main strip. One that had a half descent club and restaurant downstairs. This always made things convenient. The plan was to leave by the ten thirty check out the next day. It had been a long painfully boring ride and Frost had barely spoken to her. Maybe, it was the whole mass murder thing? Kayn smiled as she lugged her backpack out of the back of the truck. This time she’d be sharing a room with Lexy. Lily had her own room. The boys had been plotting a long overdue night of male bonding and debauchery while in the truck. So, the girls made plans to pamper themselves in the hotels luxurious spa. They planned to dress up afterwards and go out for drinks after eating at a nice restaurant. This whole excursion would be a first for her and she was looking forward to it. After making themselves comfortable in their rooms. They met down at the spa and enjoyed being pampered for the day. Kayn felt like a new woman when she was done. She’d had a massage, a manicure and a pedicure. Her hair was in an up do and she was wearing her new dress from the town they’d slain the demons in. Kayn felt classy and this was also a new experience. It was difficult to feel elegant while being jostled around in an RV, sleeping in bunk beds and ingesting nothing but food from road side diners. The closest she’d come to feeling this beautiful was when she’d been at the celebration after the Testing but that experience had been tainted by the whole virgin sacrifice thing. The fact that Kevin was there added extra anxiety to an already messed-up situation. Today there was no need for stress. This was a drama free day. The girls sat in a restaurant and ate what they wanted without worrying about where the meat came from. They sipped their glasses of wine and tried to find normal things to talk about. Needless to say, it was a quiet dinner. Lily began to flirt with their cute waiter and they watched her work her magic. The night was going splendidly until Kayn allowed thoughts of what the boys were doing to mess with her head. They couldn’t be together and she wasn’t foolish enough to believe that he was just going to sit around waiting for her. She wasn’t that naïve. She’d had a taste of his ability. Kayn understood what he needed. She’d been staring into her empty glass of wine for a while, trying to steer her mind away from the thought of him with someone else when Lexy cleared her throat. Kayn snapped back to reality as the girls started talking about going to the club to dance. Maybe she’d meet someone. It could happen. After a short cab ride back to the hotel, they arrived to the pounding of the club’s music. As per usual they strolled right past the lineup and into the club. This was one of the perks of hanging out with Lily. No line ups …ever. Kayn wandered into the club, aware that she looked amazing. Her hair was piled up on top of her head with a few soft sensual ringlets framing her face. Lily strutted in ahead of her, with her glistening jet black hair and curves for days. Lexy’s crimson hair was in an up do and her short dress left little to the imagination. Sure enough, the guys were already there chatting up a flock of female admirers. They made their way through the crowd and ordered drinks. Kayn snuck a peek in the boy’s direction. Frost was pretending he hadn’t noticed she’d arrived. This was his signature move whenever he was trying to make a point that was far too silly for her to bother with. Grey couldn’t take his eyes off Lexy. It looked like he was trying to pay attention to the girl that was speaking to him but his eyes kept wandering back to her.
Kayn nudged Lexy and whispered, “Grey’s staring at you.”
She didn’t look up from her drink as she replied, “I promised myself I wasn’t going to backslide with him, not anymore.”
Kayn could read between the lines on that comment. She’d always suspected there was more to their Dragon, Handler relationship. She nodded and said, “Understandable.” Kayn took another sip of her drink and enquired, “How did movie night with Orin go? I totally forgot to ask you about that.”
“It’s Orin. He’s trying to move on but he’s still in love with Jenna. We hung out. Nothing happened,” Lexy replied as she took another casual sip of her drink and slyly glanced over at Grey.
Kayn grinned as she took another sip out of her drink. She was having a conversation about guys with Lexy. She’d never thought that would happen. Kayn fished the cherry out of the bottom of her drink and snuck another peek at the boys. He was coming. Grey was coming over. She elbowed her fellow Dragon.
Lexy turned to look and said, “Shit.”
Grey slid up beside Lexy at the bar, leaned in and seductively whispered in her ear, “Looking good Lex.”
Lily slowly shook her head and chuckled, “Here we go.”
“I think we should dance. You’ve been sitting here long enough,” Grey flirted. He stood up, strolled around behind Lexy and spun her bar stool around to face him. He gave her a roguish grin as he tried to kiss her cheek.