by Kim Cormack
“That seems a little overly dramatic for a response to the position of a birth mark,” she teased while casually taking another sip of her wine.
Her immortal relative chuckled, “You’re just like your mother. Don’t play dumb with me. I haven’t been alive for a thousand years because of my sparkling personality, although it probably has helped me avoid getting my ass kicked a few times.”
She wasn’t sure what he’d meant. Kayn stared off into the night. Her twin sister had a birthmark behind the opposite ear. She’d died and Kayn had survived. She took a deep breath. Abaddon had done her Correction. She remembered that now. If it had been her sister that survived, would the Ankh have come to her hospital room and killed her in her sleep? She glanced over at her uncle and asked, “You really would have sentenced your own niece to entombment without even knowing me, over the placement of a birth mark?”
“I’m glad I don’t have to, if that helps? Trinity has an Oracle too so yes, in a heartbeat. I was fairly certain you were fine because of the half dozen times I saw Tiberius playing with your hair discreetly checking,” Frey far too casually replied.
Kayn took a good long look at the immortal. Frey was an extremely attractive guy. He was also without a doubt into men. She’d noticed him checking guys out as they walked past the doorway. Kayn asked, “Your sister wouldn’t have been furious at you for killing her daughter?”
Her uncle grinned as he gave her his explanation, “They’ll wipe her memory when she wakes up. Most of us have been entombed at one time or another. It is a general practice to wipe our memory before they release us back into the wild. She won’t remember what she sacrificed to bring you into the world. She won’t even remember having a child.”
Strangely enough, up till this moment Kayn hadn’t concerned herself with thoughts of the woman who’d given her this curse or gift, or whatever immortality was. The mother that raised her had also given birth to her. Having a spiritual sire was a strange concept to wrap your mind around. She said, “Maybe I’ll get to meet her one day.”
Frey replied, “I’m sure you will.”
The door opened and a waiter with a tray full of wine interrupted them. They each took a fresh glass as they strolled back inside. Her makeshift uncle raised his wine in salute, “Good luck with the Testing.” He walked away without looking back at her.
Apparently, family didn’t have the same meaning in this life. They didn’t need to say goodbye. She understood exactly where they stood. She was Ankh. Her Uncle Frey was Trinity. When this cease fire was over, they wouldn’t be hanging out having bonding chats. He’d only met her out of curiosity. She maneuvered around the couples on the dance floor while white knuckling the glass of red wine in her hand, trying to save herself from wearing it. Yes. She was unusually drunk. Kayn sat back down at the table, peered into her glass, swishing it around as she commented, “There is something very fishy about this wine.”
“Mine doesn’t taste like fish at all,” Zach remarked while looking into his glass.
Lily choked on her sip of wine and almost spit it all over the table.
Grey took Lily’s hand and said, “Come dance with me.” He led Lily out onto the crowded dance floor. The space closed between them as the music slowed. Lily rested her head on Grey’s shoulder. They were playing nice. That was strange. It felt like she was the only one witnessing their moment until she noticed Tiberius intently watching the pair, with a touch of jealousy in his eyes. The leader of Triad noticed her staring at him and raised his glass in a fake symbolic toast. As the song ended, they smiled politely at each other and parted company. Kevin popped into her mind. She glanced over to where he’d been sitting. He wasn’t there anymore. He was dancing with a girl she didn’t recognize, slowly moving with her to the rhythm of the music with his hand seductively pressed against the small of her back. Her best friend could dance. She had to stop calling him that. She had to stop referring to him as her best friend. He was gone. She was only hurting herself. The ambiance in the room was beginning to change. What was wrong with her? How was it that she was sitting here alone watching everyone else dance? It was like a sad flash back from junior high. She’d always felt like the one girl that nobody wanted to dance with. Kayn took another glass of wine from the tray as it came around the room. She fought off the urge to stand up, storm over there and scratch the girl’s eyes out. This was not the inner dialogue of a sane person. The song ended. As Kevin began walking back to the table, she looked away and took another sip from her wine glass. She didn’t want to acknowledge his presence tonight. Heaven forbid she appear to be the emotionally unhinged hormone ridden girly girl he’d accused her of being.
Lily sat down beside her and sweetly questioned, “How are you doing hun?”
Kayn quietly replied, “I could have done without seeing that stomach churning display but I’m fine.” When she looked up Kevin was on the edge of the dance floor making out with someone. It was like he was scrolling down a list of things he could do to piss her off?
Lily squeezed her shoulder and assured, “He doesn’t know who you are. You’re just somebody that he used to know. Everything that he used to be has been erased.”
“I guess I just didn’t want to believe it was possible to erase everything that we were to each other. Maybe it was naive but that’s why I couldn’t move on. I was certain he’d remember me.”
Their conversation abruptly came to a halt to the screeching sound of Tiberius pulling his chair over, “So Lilarah, you’re obviously still enamored with that meathead Grey.”
Lily placed her hand on his and flirtatiously responded, “That is long over.”
“What happened? Oh, I remember now. You were chasing that mortal again, weren’t you?”
Lily glanced at Kayn for it was a sensitive subject and they actively avoided it, “His name is Sam… And yes, I found him again.”
“You lost him?” Tiberius prodded. “What a shame.”
Lily replied, “Why are we even having this conversation? You can’t possibly be that interested in my lackluster love life.”
Tiberius chuckled, “Everybody wants you even if they don’t admit it to themselves dear. I saw you dancing with Grey and there wasn’t a hair on that boy’s body that wasn’t waving the flag of surrender. Look around this room my love. Anyone you want is yours for the taking if you set your gift free. How do you stop yourself from using it when you want something or someone?”
Lily looked into Tiberius’s longing eyes and questioned, “Who wants a love that isn’t real?”
Kayn always hated it when there was a back story that she hadn’t been told. There was one here because Tiberius had taken Lilarah’s declaration of her needs as though it were a bucket of ice water thrown in his face.
With impeccable timing Frost scooted a chair up beside Kayn and placed his arm around her possessively. He said, “Is my little brother boring you ladies?”
Kayn responded, “Your little brother. I would have never pegged you as the older one?”
“We should dance,” Frost stood up and extended his hand towards her.
Kayn shifted her seat back and got up as she enquired, “Do you promise to behave yourself?”
“Define behave,” Frost teased as he swept her into his arms and danced her away from the table while she laughed.
He’d always been good at steering her thoughts away from the past. Frost held her close as their bodies moved to the music as though they were a part of the song.
He whispered against her hair, “You’re doing much better than I thought you’d be. Keep it up. Just act like you don’t even see him there.”
Kayn snuggled into the crook of his neck and said, “I’ll survive.”
Frost teased, “I don’t doubt that for a second.”
As they slowly spun in a rhythmic circle, Kayn accidentally met Kevin’s eyes. He was sitting at the table, staring at her. He looked confused. She knew what each of his expressions meant. For a second hope surfaced in h
er heart and then she remembered, this wasn’t her best friend. He looked like him, but it wasn’t him. She met his gaze without looking away until she couldn’t bring herself to keep breaking her own heart. She closed her eyes, her nose got a little stuffed up and her eyes filled with tears against her will.
Frost heard her sniffle. He spun her around to face the other direction and whispered, “Don’t let him see you cry.” He kissed her hair while mocking Tiberius, “Lions never cry.”
She stifled a giggle and whispered, “How would a lion deal with this situation?”
He laced his fingers through hers and led her away from the dance floor, when they reached the entrance area he sprawled out on the couch.
Kayn sat on the other end. What was he up to?
Frost seductively requested, “Give me your feet.”
Intriguing? Kayn stretched her legs out and as he plucked off both of her heels, she could practically hear a choir of small children singing from her toes as he removed the torture devices and began massaging one of her feet. It was cramping! She tried to squirm away.
Frost chuckled and whispered, “Try to relax. I’m good at this.”
That was the problem. He was good at everything. She stopped fighting him, succumbing to the pleasure, she closed her eyes. Kevin was going to walk around the corner and find her there getting a foot massage. Then she remembered he wasn’t coming to look for her. What was wrong with her? Kevin was just making out with another girl right in front of her and she was worried about being caught having a heavenly foot massage. Frost smiled at her and she knew he’d been listening to her thoughts again.
He assured, “You have nothing to feel guilty about. This is an innocent foot massage. I know you hate high heels. I also know you needed a little speech.” Frost began to knead the arch of her foot, Kayn moaned aloud. He chuckled, “Keep doing that though and I’m towing you over here by your leg.”
Kayn yanked the decorative pillow out from behind her and tossed it at his face.
He laughed and said, “Seriously, what’s with you and throwing pillows at people?” He winked as he kept massaging her feet and added, “I’ve been through what you’re going through. I know how hopeless it feels but I promise you, it’s going to get better. Unfortunately, there’s no way around this part, you’re going to have to walk through the shit storm to get to the other side.”
Kayn replied with her always entertaining version of sarcastic wit, “First of all… Pillows are easy access non-lethal weapons. Would you prefer I throw knives like Lexy?”
He grinned at her and chuckled, “Pillows are fine.”
She stared into Frost’s eyes and said, “Second of all… Thank you for not playing the keep away game with me tonight.”
Frost held her foot with both hands, lifted it to his lips and gently kissed her toes. He whispered, “I know I’ve handled this situation poorly in the past. When you have unreturned feelings for someone, ego tends to get in the way of rational thought. I still want to be your friend, if you’ll let me. If you never want to be more than that, I’ll have to learn to be okay with it. If Kevin never remembers what you mean to each other, you have to learn to be okay with that.”
Kayn smiled at him because his little speech made perfect sense. Frost got up, picked up both of her shoes in one of his hands by their straps and held out the other one to help her up, while saying, “I think these heels are ready to retire for the evening.”
She took his hand and he smiled. They strolled back into the banquet room and into the center of the stacked dance floor where they danced to another song while he hung onto her shoes. She kissed his cheek when the song was finished and whispered, “Thank you.”
Kevin’s Game
The music was a haunting rendition of an old song turned country in the background. The lights dimmed to signal the end of the night was near. Kevin left his partner on the dance floor curious as to what the stunning Lily of Ankh could possibly be saying to Tiberius. He took a seat at the table beside his grandfather and accepted another glass of wine as the waiter passed by with the tray. He glanced back at the dance floor. There was the girl from his dreams in the arms of a complete idiot. At least he had a name for her now… Kayn. She’d been avoiding eye contact with him all night. He didn’t blame her. He’d been a complete asshole. No, he didn’t remember her... not really but he’d dreamt of her and he knew she’d meant something to him. When he’d seen a blonde wipe out on the track the day they arrived, he’d gone to help her out of instinct. When he’d taken her hand to help her up, she’d whispered his name and he’d been intrigued to say the least. Her touch felt like coming home. She had dust from the track on her cheek. It was incredibly endearing. He’d fought the urge to get down and kiss her wounded knees. When he noticed the symbol of Ankh on her palm, he felt nothing but panic. Grey had shown up. He’d taken her hand and it felt wrong. He’d watched Kayn tell off Tiberius and that had felt right. Kayn was a sweaty dusty weird girl. That was his first impression of her but when he’d watched the Ankh jump off the dock into the freezing water, he’d had an overwhelming urge to join them. She’d been shoved back into the water as a joke and Patrick had helped her out. He’d wanted to be the one to do that but Stephanie had a choke hold on his arm. She was adorable, standing on the dock with purple lips and chattering teeth. He wanted to dry her hair and wrap her in his arms to make her warm again. He wanted to fix whatever ailed her. She was going to be a serious complication. Kevin had spent quite a while that afternoon talking to Tiberius. He’d always known his memory had been erased. Once the situation had been explained in detail, he understood. Tiberius had erased his memory to save him from the memories of her. He needed to forget the weaker version of himself so he could blend into Triad. He had to not only fit in but he had to be able to emotionally attach to his new clan. He’d gone back to the track that night on emotional autopilot. He wasn’t a sentimental guy, not in the least but somehow, he’d known she would be there. He originally planned on telling her that Tiberius had explained why he’d erased his memory. He wanted to put the strange guilt he felt to rest and start fresh with her. They had to spend an entire week in a campground together while the others went to the Summit. He didn’t need any complications like her in his life. Everything he’d planned to say went up in smoke when she ran into his arms. His response to her scared the crap out of him. He found himself smelling her hair and wanting to tell her anything she needed to hear. His heart was racing and his mind was confused. He didn’t cry. He never cried but his eyes began to swell with tears. He blinked them away as the voice in his head said, what in the hell are doing? He abruptly regained his senses and gave her a much harsher speech than he’d intended to.
Tiberius leaned in and whispered, “My brother does look quite smitten with young Kevin here’s ex. I spoke to her briefly and she made some completely untrue comments about my genitalia. It wasn’t very nice.”
Lily laughed and almost spit out her wine. She attempted to fix her faux pas by feeding Tiberius information, “Frost was in love with the twin that died. Her name was Chloe.”
Tiberius smiled as he commented, “Ah, I see, my brother’s attempt at love has been foiled once again by fate. I’m absolutely heartbroken for the poor boy.”
Lily continued to speak casually and freely with Kayn finally out of the way, “To be blunt, we need her Enlightened. The consensus seems to be that Kevin is the key. He needs to be the one to trigger her abilities.”
Thrilled by her suggestion, Tiberius clarified, “Let me get this straight. You want me to get my Kevin to kill your Kayn?”
Kevin had been listening to the conversation, silently sipping his glass of wine while staring at Kayn on dance floor. He glared at Lily and questioned, “Is this a joke?”
“She’s going into the Testing with no abilities and she has to be broken, to be built. Our Oracles says, if you kill her in the Testing, she’ll become Enlightened. The visions changed. We aren’t sure why. In the earlier v
ersions, they survive the Testing. Now, the version where you kill her is the only version in which they survive.” Lily replied.
Kevin downed his drink as the knot in the pit of his stomach tightened. He placed the empty glass on the table and suggested, “Can’t I just kill him instead.” He wanted to do many things to Kayn, but murdering her had never been on the list.
Lilarah raised her glass to Kevin and said, “One day I’m sure you’ll get the chance to. If any part of you cares about her by the time you go into the Testing, you’ll kill her.”
Kevin replied, “Did you seriously just say that if I care about her I will kill her? I thought Triad was supposed to be the warped clan.”
Stephanie placed a drink in front of Tiberius and said, “I’ll kill her...No questions asked.”
Kevin glared at her and Tiberius chuckled, “My darling, you really need to stop acting like you’re planning on boiling rabbits in my grandson’s backyard.” Tiberius stood up, held out his hand to Lilarah with a devious smile and suggested, “Now with all twisty plots and ill-mannered ex-girlfriends aside. I think we should dance.” Tiberius led Lily onto the tightly packed dance floor as they began to discuss emotionally devastating plots created for the good of the clan.
At a loss for words, Kevin watched them go. As he stared at his glass, he wondered what Winnie would have to say about this. This was the name of the voice in his head. She’d been guiding him through every action and every reaction for a good year now. Where was she? Where was she when he was being ordered to do the unthinkable to someone that loved him? He watched Kayn disappear with Frost. She couldn’t possibly be that stupid. Surely, Frost’s reputation preceded him. Unable to help himself, he got up and made his way through the inebriated dancing crowd. He caught sight of her. She was stretched out on the couch with Frost massaging her feet. She didn’t look like a girl that was desperately in love with a boy from her past. She appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the oldest move in the sleaze bag playbook.