by B. N. Toler
“I don’t want your protection. I don’t want anyone’s protection. You said you’d teach me to take care of myself and you wouldn’t coddle me.”
He nods as he stares straight ahead. “So I did. We’ll start tomorrow.” A huge grin spreads across his face, and I wonder what exactly he has in mind.
My body lulls, fighting collapse as we watch the sun rise. As the giant orange ball rises above the horizon I think my retinas may burn right out of my sockets, even with my eyes closed. I had no idea training would start so early and I now regret every single shot I took last night. Apparently being a hybrid doesn’t make me immune to hangovers. Standing on a small fishing boat, rocking to and fro, isn’t helping either. Nick and Flynn stand next to me wearing black wet suits. Flynn brought me one of Eileen’s to wear. It’s hot pink. I had no idea they were so difficult to put on.
“Hair of the dog, dear.” Nick holds out a bottle of Jack to me, and I gag at the sight of it.
“Hit it hard last night, didn’t ya?” Flynn laughs as he bounces back and forth on the balls of his feet.
“I hate everyone,” I mumble and they chuckle.
“Take a swig. It’ll ease.” Nick nods.
I take the bottle with shaky hands and throw it back. The moment I feel the amber fluid scorch my throat I choke as I try to swallow and hold back my gags simultaneously.
“That’ll do,” Daniel warns.
Nick takes the bottle from me and I nod a thank you to him.
“So what are we doing here?” I ask. “Going for a swim?”
“It’s time to learn what your limitations are.” Daniel lights a cigarette and takes a long drag.
“What are my limitations?” I ask half interested. All I can think about right now is going back to bed and dying.
“That’s for you to decide,” Daniel replies, then nods to Flynn and Nick.
Suddenly I’m seized by strong hands and a cold shock hits me like a Mack Truck. It takes me a few seconds to figure out I’m in the water, plummeting deeper. As my wits come back to me, I realize Nick and Flynn are holding me, dragging me down. I scream releasing all of the air in my lungs which bubbles to the surface like helium filled balloons to the sky. The faint light from above is fading and darkness is consuming us as we descend. I begin to struggle and fight my way out of their grip as my lungs burn for air, but they are too strong. Is this what Daniel planned all along? To drown me? We continue our descent until we hit the mushy ocean floor where they hold me down while I continue to flail. I cannot see their faces, it’s too dark, but I feel their hands on my arms. Water fills my lungs and I let go. I’m dying. It was all a lie. Maybe I’m not a hybrid or maybe Daniel lied when he said we couldn’t die. Or maybe I haven’t drank enough blood. Either way, I’m dying in this cold, dark place. My eyes flutter, desperate to shut and with no strength left within me, I let them.
I stand on the balcony of a large stone castle overlooking mountains. Lucy appears to my right and I grab her and hold her tightly. I’ve heard stories that when you die, a loved one who passed before you comes to take you to the other side.
“I failed, Lucy,” I cry as I tighten my arms around her, breathing in her familiar scent of mothballs and Bounce dryer sheets.
“How so?” she chuckles.
“I’m dead. I never even found the nest of vampires.”
“You’re not dead.” Lucy pulls me back and looks at me. Her soft gray hair falls freely and strands blow in her face with the wind. She pulls them behind her ear and gazes back over the view.
“They drowned me.”
“No. Hybrids cannot die unless they are blood starved. You fed last night.”
“But, why did they drag me to the bottom of the ocean?”
“To show you your strength. You gave up and you died, but not really.”
To show me my strength? It makes sense now. Nick and Flynn didn’t die so how could I? I’m an idiot.
“Why didn’t you tell me about what I am?”
She doesn’t look at me when she answers. “I wanted to protect you.”
“But being a hybrid means I’m more powerful. You kept me weak.”
“Maybe I’m selfish. I wanted to hold onto the last piece of my sister that I could.” This time her gaze meets mine.
I stare at her. I feel lucky sometimes that I can bring Lucy’s image to my subconscious and speak to her. I can create her as she was, her voice, her scent, but in the end, she’s not real. I’m really only talking to myself. “You should have told me. Everyone has lied to me.”
Her eyes dart down as if she knows I’m right before they return to meet mine and she says, “You know now. What do you intend to do with it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You could lie down and die or you can get up and fight. What’s it going to be?”
Snapping awake, I find it’s still dark and cold. No longer feeling Flynn and Nick’s hands on me holding me down, I move my arms around to see if they’re still there, but feel nothing. They left me here? Bastards! My stomach is bloated with the contents of seawater and I gag, but it only makes me swallow more water. Something slimy brushes against my arm and I whip my hand at it like it’s a spider. Hybrid or not, gross slimy things still wig me out. Shaking my head at the thought of how badly I want to kick Daniel’s ass for doing this to me, I plant my feet on the mushy ocean floor and push up with all of my might. When I take off, I’m surprised at how much force I have. Blasting off towards the surface, I eject from the water seconds later, rising above the surface about twenty feet before belly flopping back onto the water’s surface.
The guys are laughing as I flail and try to hold my head above water, my body still fighting for breath that I can’t seem to get. One of them jerks me from the water as I cough and hack before dropping me on the deck of the boat. Keeled over, I choke up water laced with bile and whiskey. When nothing else will come up I dry heave for a few moments before I crawl across the boat and rest my head on the side.
Flynn wraps a towel around me as I shiver. When I finally turn around and slump against the side of the boat, Daniel sits in the captain’s chair in front of the steering wheel, smoking a cigarette with that casual grace of his, acting as though I haven’t been sitting here about to hack up an ovary. “Nice swim kitten?”
I glare at him through the wet matted hair plastered to my face.
“Sorry Aldo. We’ve all done it, though. Telling you that you can survive and showing you are very different. Your human mind makes you believe you are weak. It is only when you experience your abilities that you realize you have them.” Flynn kneels down before me and pats my knee.
I force myself up on shaky legs and perch on the side of the boat. I thought I was dead, that I was a goner, but here I am. Alive! Somewhere deep within me a tidal wave of laughter bubbles up and explodes out of my mouth, forcing me to lean over, crazed with laughter.
“You okay, kid?” Nick asks approaching me with caution.
I snap up, my laughter dissipating and stare at Nick. “I thought I was going to die.” My laughter still plays on my lips and my body convulses fighting the urge to roll back into hysteria. “I’m fucking awesome!” I stand up and my towel falls to the floor of the boat. Nick, Flynn, and Daniel all share glances as smiles spread across their faces.
I begin dancing and chanting, “I’m fucking awesome, I’m fucking awesome,” over and over as Daniel watches me with a humored expression, but I decide not to question it. I’m on cloud nine right now. There is no better feeling than escaping the clutches of death. The feeling of your life slipping away from you is the worst I have ever experienced. I never want to feel that again.
“So what’s the next lesson?” I ask eagerly.
“Now, we have a little fun.” Nick smiles and dives back in the water.
We spend most of the morning swimming down to the ocean floor and pushing back up seeing who can gain the most air when they eject from the water. I lose every time, but it’s still a l
ot of fun. It’s amazing not having to breathe underwater. Nick and Flynn set about catching dinner, bare handed, when I climb back onto the boat and try to dry myself off.
“Why aren’t you swimming?” I ask Daniel as he stares out over the water, his back to me.
“Not in the mood today.”
“So what do I learn next?”
He turns to me as I use my towel to dry my hair and his gaze falls to my chest. The water is freezing and the air is chilly. My nipples poke through the tight fabric of my wet suit and Daniel seems to have noticed. My face flushes with heat and I wrap the towel around myself.
“We’ll discuss it later. Why don’t you go change.” He clears his throat as he lights another cigarette.
When we get back to the house, Flynn and Nick present their catches to Cassia. Cassia kisses them on their cheeks and praises them in her native tongue. I admire Cassia; her gorgeous high cheekbones and dark eyes. She reminds me of Sophia Loren. I’m starting to see what Daniel was telling me about a female hybrids power. Something about Cassia is mesmerizing. Even Eileen, though not as exotic and sensual-looking as Cassia, is alluring. Her green eyes, her innocent face, the curves of her body. They are stunning. But it’s something more than that. It’s an aura that radiates around them.
“Time for your next lesson.” Daniels grabs a beer from the fridge and twists the top off, tossing it in the trash bin.
“Really?” I ask shocked.
“Cassia will teach you how to cook.”
“Seriously?” I ask incredulously. I hate cooking. I’m awful at it.
“We all pitch in here.” Daniel laughs as he plops down on the sofa in the living room and turns the television on.
“Come, my dear.” Cassia takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen. My blood stirs with her touch. “I will teach you how to cook for kings. Men will eat out of your palms.”
“You’ve got your work cut out for you,” I laugh.
Cassia teaches me how to fillet the fish out on the balcony. We bread it and bake it, cut potatoes for baked rosemary potatoes and snap open edamame to boil. Once everything is in the oven, Cassia releases me to go shower and change. I head down to the second level where my bedroom is, but Bridge stops me at the bottom of the steps.
“We haven’t properly met.” He smiles politely.
I stare at him. If he thinks we’re going to be all chummy-like he’s got another thing coming. Maybe I do attract men unintentionally. I mean Wyatt did make a move on me prom night, and I’ve been attacked twice in the last couple of days, but that’s no excuse. Bridge was trying to hypnotize me to screw him in the bathroom. Ew. It makes my skin crawl to think about it.
“I’m Bridge,” he offers when I don’t respond.
“I know who you are,” I state plainly. “And I’m sure you know my name and you’ve gotten the skinny on me already. If you’ll excuse me.” I try to push past him, but he steps in front of me.
“Whoa. I know we started off on the wrong foot, but—”
“Wrong foot?” I interrupt him, my tone holding a bite. “You hypnotized me and tried to rape me in the men’s room at a bar.”
“It isn’t rape if the other party is willing, and you were more than willing.” He smiles at me condescendingly.
“Is that your game, Bridge? You hypnotize women and when they do what you tell them to do, like screw you, you consider it mutual participation?”
“I didn’t hypnotize you into screwing me…you wanted it.”
I lean in real close to him and whisper, “I wouldn’t screw you if my life depended on it.”
He steps back. “Oh, you wanted it. You were like a bitch in heat.”
“Fuck you!” I snarl as I shove past him and he laughs, but I continue in to my room and slam the door behind me. My skin feels like it’s on fire as rage scorches through me. I make a mental kill list. First, Thomas will die. Then Bridge. Only after I cut off the protruding member of his body he seems to think is so magnificent. To kill him, I’ll have to starve him, and that will involve some real planning on my part, but I decide to think about how to do that later. For now, I’ll play nice. I need to be here. I’m learning and growing and killing Bridge will definitely set me on bad terms with Daniel.
Showering quickly, I dry and straighten my hair, and throw on a pair of jeans and a tank top. I apply light makeup and head upstairs where everyone is laid out over the couches watching football. Cassia is in the kitchen and I join her at the stove.
“What can I do?”
“Set the table mammacita.”
I set plates, silverware, and napkins out as Cassia lays out our feast in the center of the table. Everyone is seated, me between Cassia and Eileen. Daniel sits across from me, and Bridge sits beside him. There are several conversations going on at once, but I stare at my plate, still fuming over my conversation with Bridge earlier.
“So, tell us something about yourself, Aldo,” Nick asks in an attempt to include me.
“Oh. Not much to tell,” I laugh nervously. I mean there’s not much I can tell.
“You have no family at all?” Cassia asks as she spoons some potatoes on her plate.
“No. No family.” As I glance up, I catch Bridge staring at me, a slight smirk on his lips. He’s staring at me like he’s plotting something, but I dismiss it. I glare at him quickly before jerking my eyes away.
“How have you made it by yourself?” Eileen asks as she takes a bite of her fish.
“I’ve just survived it all somehow.” I shrug. I hate this. I don’t want to talk about me—at all. I rack my brain for a question to ask any of them when Bridge speaks.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but I read the saddest story in the paper the other day.” I quietly sigh to myself, relieved Bridge stopped the questioning.
“Really?” Eileen’s eyes dart to Bridge. I can tell she’s a sucker for any kind of tearjerker story.
“Is this going to make her cry?” Flynn rolls his eyes as he leans back in his seat.
“Shut up, Flynn. I don’t cry that much,” Eileen whines as she perches on the edge of her seat eager for Bridge’s story.
Flynn rolls his eyes again and smiles at me. I smile back, then return my attention to my plate. I’m grateful everyone is now focused on Bridge, but I could give a rat’s ass what he has to say about anything.
“So, there was this house fire. Neighbors, cops, and paramedics all standing outside this house watching it burn. Firefighters working diligently to contain the flames.” I’m frozen and my heart aches with his words. I envision my house, burning down with Lucy inside of it. My throat tightens as pain rips through my chest and I fight back the tears that want to well in my eyes. I start chugging my water to try and stop them.
“So what’s the sad part?” Eileen asks.
Bridge sighs as he cuts his fillet with his fork and says, “There was a woman inside. She was raising triplets.” I choke on my water and start coughing and hacking. My face flushes with heat and my heart begins to race. I swallow back my coughs and focus on slowing my heart rate.
“That is so sad,” Eileen whispers softly. “Were the triplets inside?”
Bridge’s gaze falls to me. He gives a faint smile, and says, “No, thankfully. One of the triplets—a young girl, tried to get inside of the house to save her, but she passed out before she ever entered the house.”
“What happened to the triplets?” Nick asked.
“The girl hasn’t been right since. They say she wanders aimlessly though her days, searching for answers. The aunt was murdered and this poor, naïve girl thinks she can find the people responsible.”
“What about the other two siblings?” Flynn asks.
“They’re content.” Bridges eyes cut to me, sharp as razor blades. “Let’s hope that they stay that way.”
It’s funny the words we can hear within words. How we can say one thing and mean something entirely different. Bridge just pulled the rug out from under me and in not so many words threatened
my family.
Yes.
Yes, he will die.
Obviously he wants to come to an understanding with me, or he would have exposed me right there in front of everyone. Still, he must know I’m not one to take threats lightly—or at least he will know very soon.
Daniel’s gaze catches mine before darting to Bridge and back to me again. Shit! He knows my aunt has passed away and he thinks I have one twin that has also passed. Could he be putting two and two together or am I being paranoid? His stare lingers on me for a moment with an odd expression before refocusing on his plate of food. Okay, I’m just being paranoid. I let out a huge sigh of relief.
I shake my head, returning my attention to Bridge, as I rub Eileen’s back while she wipes at her eyes. “You know, someone very wise once told me, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” Definitely a Lucy Lawson ode of wisdom. “Tragedy can make lions out of kittens. I wouldn’t doubt that girl finds a way to avenge her aunt; hell, maybe she’ll become a cop and stop murderers and rapists. The possibilities are unlimited,” I say this with great conviction. Daniel’s eyes dart to mine, but his look is odd and I have no idea what he’s thinking.
“Well aren’t you the optimist.” Eileen smiles.
“No. Just a realist. Bad people reap what they sew. It could be days, weeks, or years, but karma doesn’t play favorites. We’re all pawns in her game and eventually she makes sure we get what we deserve.” I cut my eyes to Bridge whose gaze is locked on me as he throws back his beer.
“Cassia, this was awesome.” Daniel leans back, scratching his stomach, as if he’s not at all affected by our conversation.
“Oh, it was Aldo. She is good in the kitchen.” Cassia nods approvingly to Nick as she speaks.
“That’s a very generous compliment,” I jest.
We all laugh and one by one as we finish we scrape our dishes in the trash and place them in the sink. Daniel and Flynn wash and dry while Cassia, Eileen, and I plop down in the living room, while Bridge and Nick seem to have disappeared to their rooms. After Flynn and Daniel do the dishes, Flynn joins us in the living room and Daniel disappears to his room. He has the master bedroom on the top floor, but the door is always shut so I have no idea what the hell his room looks like. Not that I care. Okay, maybe I’m mildly curious.