Johnna nodded and tried to look at the girl in a new light. It was going to take some time for her to get over it. She felt the anger and heartbreak in her chest, and she didn't have a place to put it anymore. It was easier for her to blame Savannah. She felt like screaming at the top of her lungs in anger, but that wouldn't help anyone but her right now. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back. "You're right, as usual, Eamon! You realize that I hate that about you," she said with a small smile.
Eamon returned the smile, and relaxed.
"Eamon?" Harry called out from the bedroom. It was the same room that he had slept in during his adventure with his friends. He and Henry had been trying to figure out how to get to the television without taking apart the wall. It was so flush with the wall, that it appeared to be embedded in it. They also couldn't find any cords coming from it, so they assumed that they would be in the wall as well. Henry thought that maybe Eamon had been talking about a different television set.
Eamon walked in casually with his hands in his pockets. "What's the problem?" he asked. Looking at the wall, he noticed that they hadn't touched the TV yet. "Did you change your mind about wanting to watch the news?"
"No, Eamon," said Henry. "We were wondering if there was another TV that you had in mind. This one won't--"
"-- No, this one will do," Eamon said, cutting him off.
Harry watched as the Vampire walked over to the screen and peeled it from the wall as though it were a sticker and walked back out of the room. "Wait! How does that work?" Harry asked, clamoring after Eamon. He had never seen anything like it.
"Oh, I own a couple of technology companies. This one is a prototype. It seems to work well enough," said Eamon, as he grabbed a black marker from a drawer in the kitchen. Heading to the living room he asked Savannah to help him stick it to the large glass window opposite Samuel. Taking the marker, he drew a line from the TV to a special outlet in the adjacent wall next to the door. Turning to Henry, who had just walked in with the remote, he said, "Okay, you can turn it on now."
Henry looked at the Vampire as though he had a few screws loose but punched the power button anyway. The television filled with light and picture. Sound filled the apartment, and Henry turned the channel to the local news station, hardly believing his eyes. He wasn't new to magic, but this seemed impossible. He couldn't believe that this was the work of Humans. No wonder Eamon had so much money. He was clearly a smart investor. He and Johnna weren't hurting financially; Johnna was a well-respected artist, and he was a decent realtor, but Eamon was in a league they would never even dream of.
"Hmmm. It might not be a bad idea to add voice activation to the TV recommendation," Eamon said, more to himself than anyone in the room.
Harry's eyes grew wide, "You only go out at night, you're rich, you run leading edge tech companies, and you like your toys. I've got it! You're Batman!"
Shaking his head, Eamon smiled thoughtfully. "I wouldn't mind having the Batmobile." This brought out a big grin from Harry.
Handing over the remote, Henry took his seat next to his son. He felt bad for Samuel. He loved his wife immensely but felt that she often overreacted when it came to the kids. He didn't blame any of them; they just found themselves in a tough situation and did the best they could. He knew that they wouldn't be able to run from this fight forever. It affected all the Supernatural beings. He figured that the sooner everyone joined together against the Siphons, the better chance they had of winning. Otherwise, the Siphons would keep picking everyone off one by one, and any allies they could have had would be gone. As much as he missed the protection of the pack, it made him feel good to be under the same roof as so many other races. From what he understood, Morphlings were created to help fix the Siphon problem. What kind of Morphling would he be if he kept running from it? He was proud of his son.
At first, the news seemed boring, until an emergency bulletin was put up, a warning about a series of murders that happened half an hour earlier all over town. Five were dead, and three more were found in comas and bleeding from strange wounds. The victims seemed to be random, and names would be released after the next of kin had been notified.
A whimper escaped Lanie's lips, and Eamon shut off the television. The room was silent. Not one of them would or could talk. Michael buried himself deeper into his mother, trying to shut out the world. They all knew that they had to wait for the sun to come up before they could call George Howlen, the pack's Alpha. The whole pack had been instructed to stay in their wolf form. It wasn't hard to convince them since that is how they usually slept, anyhow. Until then, there was nothing any of them could do or say to help.
**********
The only one who slept was Michael, tucked into Johnna's side. He woke up often since it was uncomfortable for him to sleep in his human form, and the space was too small for him to try his usual bear cub form. It didn't matter how exhausted from the day everyone was, the rest stayed wide awake on pins and needles, waiting for news from the pack. Lanie would get up to make everyone coffee or cocoa. Sometimes, Eamon would turn the TV back on, hoping there would be updates on the victims,but the reporters would just keep telling people that they needed to stay in their homes.
Savannah desperately wanted to confront Thalia. The Wizard had promised that the pack would be safe, but she had also been wrong about when Savannah would show up. She knew that if she tried to wake up Thalia, she was likely to get thrown into the railing this time.
At one point, Lanie noticed the bloodied and broken fingernails on Savannah's hands. It wouldn't take much magic to fix them, but she couldn't risk drawing the attention of the Siphons now. If she worked on them in the morning, the residue would be gone before the next night. Until then, her daughter would have to deal with the pain, though it seemed to bother Lanie more than Savannah.
It was about six in the morning before Harry's phone rang. Everyone stared at him breathlessly as he answered it.
"Hi, Dad!" said Harry. Before long he sighed, and said, "Thanks! I love you too, Dad! Yeah, I'll call Mom later. Tell her I love her and don't forget to pick on the rugrats for me. They'll miss me too much if you don't." He chuckled a little and ended the call.
Turning to the rest of the group, Harry said, "Dad and Mr. Howlen did a head count this morning. The pack made it. No one got hurt."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Johnna let a couple of tears slip out, now that she knew everyone she loved was okay.
"Some got hurt," said Samuel. "Who do you think the Siphons went after?" he asked Eamon.
Harry piped up, "Dad said that they could hear screaming from a few blocks away. He said that it sounded Human."
"He is probably correct," said Eamon, somberly. "The Siphons more than likely feasted on what they could find."
Samuel hoped that he didn't know any of the victims, but felt bad all the same. Was it going to be like this every night? Everyone sitting around waiting for bad news or a phone call? His head was getting clouded, and the exhaustion of the night's events weighed him down. "Well, this was fun," he said getting up. "But I'm going to get some shut-eye."
"That's a good idea," said Eamon. "Besides, it's Sunday, and you kids have school tomorrow."
Savannah's head shot up, "I thought we were on lockdown. How can we go to school?"
"For whatever reason, Siphons seem to be night creatures. I don't see why you need to stop attending school," said Eamon.
Nodding, Savannah said goodnight to everyone before heading to bed. Not long after, she felt her mother crawl under the covers next to her and kiss her on the head.
Chapter 7
The delicious smell of coffee drifted to Savannah and gently woke her up. She hadn't always been a fan of coffee, but since they had moved to the city, it had grown on her; though hot cocoa still remained her favorite drink. Her mother was still in a deep sleep, curled up beside her. She carefully crawled out of bed, so as not to disturb Lanie, and tucked the blankets into her side before leaving the room. The apartment
was silent and empty, save for a small dark-haired figure sitting with his back to her. She had only seen him a couple of times, and they had never spoken. She snuck into the bathroom to brush her teeth and freshen up. She noticed that her fingers and nails had been repaired while she was sleeping. Unsure of whether it had been herself or her mother, she decided to ask Lanie about it later. It made her nervous to think that Kite magic had been used so close to the Siphon attacks.
When she came back out, he was staring at her with his big, pale blue eyes that were encompassed in thick, overly long black lashes. His head was cocked to the side like a curious puppy. Tentatively, she rounded the kitchen island to pour herself a cup of Joe. She could feel his eyes following her. She was unsure why, but being alone with him made her nervous. The only other kid his age that she had been around was Tyana's son, Jacob. He talked her ear off from the moment they met. Now she found herself in an uncomfortable silence.
Sipping on her coffee, she tried to think of something to break the silence. "So," she started, smacking her lips together, "where is everyone?"
"My family is with the pack, and Eamon is still sleeping," he said in a quiet, high-pitched voice that caught her off guard. She thought that he rather sounded like a little girl. She was used to Jacob's lower tones. He continued to stare at her with a curious expression on his little face.
Looking at the time, she realized that Eamon probably wouldn't be up for another hour or two. He didn't get a lot of sleep, usually, but she knew that he would sleep until at least one or two in the afternoon. Sometimes, he would get up around eleven in the morning, but those were on days that he was excessively busy and had to pretend to be Human for awhile. Everyone had such a late night that she was a little surprised that any of them had gotten up before noon.
"So, why aren't you with them?" she asked, trying not to sound rude.
"They thought I might be in the way," he said in his small voice again. "Besides, I really wanted to meet you. My brother talks about you all the time."
"Oh!" she said, feeling more nervous than before. "You wanted to meet me?"
He nodded and said, "We could tell that you were waking up, because of your breathing patterns. Mom wasn't happy with the idea of leaving me with you, but Dad overruled her." He seemed to think for a moment. "This might be her way of testing you." Looking down, he added, "She doesn't seem to like you very much."
"Yeah, I noticed," Savannah said. She was surprised at the turn of events. This little boy seemed very sweet. Not at all like his cocky older brother. Not that Samuel wasn't sweet; it was more like he was trying to prove something. This kid seemed very comfortable just being himself and didn't feel the need to prove himself to anyone, except for maybe Samuel.
"Well, Michael, what do you want to do?" she asked him, trying to make the best of a confusing situation.
The boy shrugged his narrow shoulders and said, "I don't know. What were you planning to do today? Maybe I can just tag along."
"I guess my only real plan was to go back up and talk with Thalia," she said, taking another sip of coffee.
Michaels eyes lit up. "The Wizard?"
Savannah nodded and chuckled a little, "Yeah. Just let me grab something to eat and leave a note."
The little boy started jumping up and down in his seat with excitement. Savannah studied Michael and realized that he had already become part of her heart. She really liked this little Morphling. It seemed an impossible thing not to love him a little. Now, she understood why Samuel was desperate and heartbroken when his parents kept them apart.
**********
After a bowl of cereal, Savannah left a note, letting everyone know where she and Michael were headed. Leaving it on the kitchen island, she turned around and let out a stifled scream.
Michael was standing there naked with a small pile of his clothes next to him.
"Michael! What are you doing?" Savannah squeaked out, trying to cover her eyes as quickly as possible.
"You said we were going to see Thalia. Eamon said she was on the twentieth floor," he said, confused by her reaction.
"Yes, and what does that have to do with you being naked?" she demanded.
"Aren't we going to fly up the stairwell?" he asked. "It seems the easiest way. Or are we morphing into cats? I don't understand why you're upset."
Throwing her head back, it finally made sense to Savannah. She had the same problem with Samuel. "Yes, it would be easier, but I don't think Thalia wants to see us without clothes when we arrive."
"Why would a Wizard care? They are the ones that created Morphlings!" he said, still confused.
Grr...this kid was getting the better of her. He was too smart. While Savannah was still fumbling for a reason why it would matter, he said, "Besides, you can always change your skin to look like you're wearing clothes." To give her an example, he changed parts of his skin to look as if he were wearing a furry jumpsuit.
Staring at him in awe, she realized how brilliantly simple his solution was. "You're a little genius, aren't you?" she said, ruffling his hair. She ran into the bathroom and shut the door for privacy.
"What are you doing?" she heard Michael ask from the other side of the door.
"I'm trying it out. Any suggestions?" she asked him.
"I like a lot of fur because I get really cold. But Mom likes to do snakeskin. Sam has been using a lot of feathers lately, but he used to use horse fur. Dad changes it up a lot," he said. He felt weird talking to a door. He wasn't used to doors. The no-change room was the only one with a door on it at home. The more time he talked with Savannah, the more curious he became. Sam was right; she was a weird Morphling. She didn't seem to know the simplest things. How did she even choose to be a girl?
Behind the door, Savannah thought about what Michael was telling her. She tried to start out small by making her hand look like it had a snakeskin glove. She'd had a lot of snakes slither over her legs while she had lived in the forest. It took a few times, but she finally accomplished it. The first two times, she found herself as a snake on the floor. The next three times, she had trouble covering only her hand. There were a few double takes in the mirror when she realized her face was covered in brown scales. Next was the hard part-- designing a believable outfit that would cover everything. She opted for a snakeskin unitard with green horse fur covering her chest and peacock feathers flowing from her waist like a skirt. She was in the bathroom for another thirty minutes trying to get it right. Every time she messed up, she would go back to her Kite form and try again. Before too long, Michael started banging on the door.
"Savannah? Are you still in there?" he asked.
She double checked to make sure that she could pull off going from a cat to "fully clothed" in one change. After she was satisfied, she exited the bathroom.
"Wow!" exclaimed Michael. "You really like clothes."
Looking at him oddly and checking herself over again, she asked, "What do you mean?"
"I've never seen anyone go that specific before. Usually, we do it to be nice to the Werewolves or Eamon. Mom says not everyone understands. I guess she was right," he said.
"You were all wearing clothes last night when you went over to Harry's," she said, feeling confused.
"That's because we had just come from a Twitchie park. Mom says that we have to wear clothes for the Twitchies," he said.
Savannah noticed that he seemed annoyed with the very idea of clothes. She liked Michael, and being around him was helping her understand Samuel more.
"Well, I wasn't really raised as a Morphling," she said, smiling at the funny little boy.
Nodding, Michael asked, "Can we go see the Wizard now?"
"Sure. How about we go as cats?" she said.
With that, he turned into a little black cat. He looked a lot like Samuel, only smaller, and had clear blue eyes. Savannah opened the front door before turning into a green cat with gray eyes. She took off up the stairwell, leading Michael to Thalia's apartment.
The whole way
up, Michael thought about how they would have saved time if he hadn't opened his big mouth. Walking up in Human form would have taken longer but would have saved time on her being behind a door trying to perfect her outfit. Girls were weird!
Everyone wondered why he hadn't chosen to be a girl. He had been a girl for most of his childhood, but it hadn't felt right. Now, all of the kids at school made fun of him for being too sensitive. He ignored them. He liked being a boy. It took him awhile to realize that he was in girl form because his mom had always wanted a daughter. Once he figured that out, everything kind of clicked into place for him. Sometimes, he thought his mom seemed sad about his choice, but for the most part, she came around and accepted him for who he truly was. After all, he was still the same Micha. He had just chosen to become Michael and not Michaela. From what he was told, Sam didn't try being a girl for very long. He always knew that he was meant to be a boy. He always wondered how Twitchies handled being gendered at birth. How do you know what you are supposed to be before you can even talk? It didn't make sense to him.
**********
As they came up to the landing on the nineteenth floor, they could hear loud discussions coming from the twentieth. Looking at each other, they slowed their pace and snuck up the last remaining steps.
"What do you think is going on?" Michael meowed.
"I don't know. Maybe she already has company," Savannah meowed back. "It kind of sounds like the Dwarves I heard last night."
"Dwarves?! I get to meet a Wizard and Dwarves all in one day?" Michael asked, leaping around her in circles.
"Shhh...come on," she said, trying to calm him down.
Illuminated Embers Page 8