by Fey Truet
Now!
While her guard was down, I zipped past her, and, feeling the burning vitality in my tail, I used the jewel to destroy the spikes that held Collin.
He collapsed to the ground in a limp mass and lied motionless.
I went up to his face.
Collin, wake up! I cried.
Heat burst at my side and I flew motionless into a metal bin. I looked up.
My eyesight was blurry. Everything was—!?
“Gluttons are supposed to be useless, to say the least,” Blendon Sharon appeared in front of me.
She grabbed my tail and lifted me.
“While some may prove physically adept, they have no real powers other than of attraction. The fact that they eventually consume all that is around them trumps the little worth they do have. I find that more is accomplished without than with. I’ll do Little Brother a favor and spare him the task of disposing of you.”
I dangled from her hand like a pendulum.
It all hurt so badly.
I caught glimpse of Collin and mustered all my strength.
She twisted my tail so I’d face away from her.
“Hm. However, this jewel catches my fancy. It is what you used to sever my parquet. I think it holds some value. I will take it for my own. That and the Drogue.”
I watched a mouth form on her hand and she raised it to me.
I put all my remaining strength into a strike aimed at her face, and smoke billowed from where I cut.
She screamed and swung me around by my tail.
I don’t think so!
The woman screamed and let me go as the jewel she coveted burned her hand.
I could smell the burning, but it wasn’t like flesh. It was like the burning petrol smell from the truck I was in the other day.
My soul-self grew ravenous, and I leapt at her, locking onto her neck.
She screamed in pain this time, and I was forced to let go because of all of the smoke that billowed out. I jumped up and bit again, getting her collarbone, and she pulled me and threw me, but I caught myself and landed on my feet this time.
I watched her, ready to leap again.
“What are you!” she bellowed.
I crouched down and growled.
I could ask you the same.
She looked awful. Her arm hung limply at her side, burned green and black, and she used her other arm to hold the smoke in her neck. Her beauty was dissolving behind a sweat-soaked face that grew darker and darker as her eyes began to shrink and blacken.
She shrieked and flew towards me faster than I could react.
I closed my eyes waiting for pain but it never came.
I opened them and saw a blinding bright light and the silhouette of his back.
“I was wondering when you’d reveal yourself, Blendon,” the little boy gloated.
“Don’t pretend to know that I was here! But if you take it upon yourself to accept this quarrel as your own we will once more raze this world as we bicker. That girl is rightfully mine! She destroyed my son, your own flesh and blood, you yourself swore to protect. That makes her life forfeit.”
I heard her scream again.
“No, Blendon. We are even and you are weakened. Assume if you must that I don’t know what you have taken. What rules you have broken. This will be settled now.”
“Indeed, Little Brother. And I digress. It is unfortunate your wisdom has done nothing for your curse. How unfortunate for us both we come together weakened as we have. But Blendon is the healer. I have not forgotten that, nor will I forget today. You protect your precious little Glutton, but if you are wise, you will not forget or repeat the mistakes of your past,” Blendon laughed.
The light receded, and once more I could see the alley. The smell of destruction left my nostrils and the sound of people filtered back into my ears. I turned and saw them walking by, blind to what was happening. Blind to how injured I had just become.
I collapsed to my side, the burn on my other side now taking its toll. Then I caught glimpse of Collin.
He was still here.
I looked up and saw the little boy still standing where he was, his back still to me.
“Maybe I should’ve been there to meet you,” he said. “Maybe. But you frighten even me. And if Blendon weren’t the fool that she was, you’d frighten her too. There used to be laws against helping unsavory creatures too foolish to fear our kind for this very reason.”
I let myself drift into uncertainty.
It was certainly better than listening to his excuses.
“I’m sorry,” I heard him say, and the world sucked away.
I don’t think that was what he said anyway.
An Hour A Day
“Are you okay?” I heard Collin’s voice. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in his light blue guest room.
I liked the light blue one but preferred the green one. I guess that was my favorite color.
Green.
But I really liked blue too.
I looked back down at Collin’s concerned face.
I don’t know? Am I?
I felt like I had been crushed. If I could avoid it, I wouldn’t even dare look down at my body. If I was damaged, I didn’t want to see it. I was glad my body wouldn’t move.
Collin sat his head down on the bed next to me. The way the room was filled with his sassafras and doggy scent told me he had been here for a while. All of his rooms smelled empty.
What’s wrong? I asked.
He didn’t lift his head up from the bed.
“I should’ve listened to you. If I had, you’d never have gotten hurt. I let my guard down. Was too arrogant. I’m sorry. Please forgive me,” he muttered.
I sighed.
It doesn’t matter. Even if you had listened to me—which I really doubt—I hardly believe you would’ve made a difference. That woman was as vile as she was powerful. She was also determined to make me pay and take you for her own. You aren’t the one who owes me an apology and I’d be puzzled if you started listening to me, considering you haven’t since the day you first abused my tails.
He lifted his head up.
“Well, I will. I don’t like being the letdown in any group. I couldn’t stand the state you’ve fallen into before Cross healed you. If listening to you will prevent that then that’s what I’ll do!”
He made it sound like a chore.
You don’t have to, I told him.
“Yes I do!” he argued.
No, I mean it. You don’t. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you will. And even if you did, I think I’d prefer it more if you didn’t. Actually. I’d prefer just not to be around you.
I really meant all of that. I think he’d explode.
He growled as if he were still his soul-self. The Drogue.
“I said I would already so shut up and get off my back.”
I sighed.
He’s already not listening, I thought, forgetting that he’d hear me.
He pulled my ear, a crude action against an injured being.
“Yes-I am.”
Ow! That hurts, I cried out.
“Yeah, I’m listening. I can hear you loud and clear.”
Stop! I sat up and tried to claw his hands.
He let go.
“I just wanted to see if you could hear with those bowls you call ears.”
I lay back down with a huff.
Better than you can, at least—
A glass broke, and there standing at the door behind a broken vase and flower mess was Thanos, her hand still in the position she must’ve broken the vase with. She didn’t smile.
“I hope this wasn’t important. You’ll clean it up, won’t you Collin?”
With that, she left.
Collin growled.
“I can’t stand that woman!” he barked, running over to pick up the pieces. I watched him and sighed. “I don’t understand why she acts like this.”
I wondered if this was the type of “toxic relationship” Man
na tried to explain to me.
By the way, Collin was cleaning up this mess, I assumed it was.
I sighed again.
It’s none of my business.
Collin flinched at my thought.
After a moment he said, “She’s not my girlfriend if that’s what you’re thinking. We’ve never been like that. Thanos is one of Phillip’s oldest familiars. And most unstable. Her soul-self and my own are likes. Too similar. And a long time ago, long before my time, that meant something that it doesn’t mean now. Even so, she’s obsessed and I can’t get rid of her.
“Which is why I should warn you. You asked about Ever earlier. Well Ever is one of Cross’ oldest familiars. And for the old guys, the rules are different. Especially if they aren’t human. Like Ever and Thanos. A rule of thumb is if they are old then you stay away unless told otherwise. They aren’t exactly patient like I am,” he explained, coming back to plop next to me.
I looked at him, pained and a little surprised.
You’re patient? I asked.
He flicked my nose. “Pay attention, moron. I’m trying to give you hard-learned advice no one gave me when I started this gig. I got mixed up with an old one and look where it got me.”
He nodded towards the hallway.
I glanced just as an angry Thanos shuffled by; kicking what I was sure was a dead bird.
“Stay away from Ever if you can avoid it. He has no tolerance for anyone but Cross and Wren. Even I got maimed by him once upon a time. He doesn’t normally kill without provocation, but I’m sure if it were you he’d make an exception. He hates Remnants and kills them like chickens up for slaughter. I was there when he killed Tilby. And all she did was run. That’s what lures are supposed to do. And he…”
Collin lost his relaxed composure for a moment and shook his head.
“Let’s just say I don’t ever want to witness it again. It’s one thing when one of us gets killed by those demons, it’s a whole nother thing to know that we’re offing each other. Ever hates Remnants. If you haven’t heard the stories yet, then I’ll warn you. They’re true.”
I shrugged with a discontented sound.
I wished I could think it was of little concern to me but it seemed to have my name written all over it. Now that I was moving, though painful, I shook, happy that I had no physical limitations. Just the fact that I knew I should be dead. The shaking made my Book Of Life sing a significant note that I ignored.
Collin sat up.
“Hey! It looks like you earned back some time! You even got a little life.”
I looked at him as if he were a stick.
Huh? I asked.
Collin groaned.
“You’re book of life, Dummy. Don’t you know anything? You’re supposed to check it every time something happens. Here. Summon it. I’ll show you.”
Summon it?
I really didn’t know a thing. In my defense, this was still new to me and I didn’t get a proper orientation. I didn’t even know that I was going to turn into a cat.
“It’s magic, genius. Touch it with intention and it should bend to your will.”
Oh, I thought to myself.
I touched my book pendant wanting to…open it? Nope. Examine it? Um, read…it?
I couldn’t read words but I remembered the pictures the book had so kindly drawn for me.
That last intention did the trick.
The book popped bigger and then plopped on the bed.
I looked at the word “Emare” on the cover. I knew that word.
My name.
“There we go. I promise I won’t steal your book,” Collin said as he opened it to the first page.
I don’t know why. I already knew that.
On it was a grandfather clock with more hands than I could count. On the page opposite it was a green silhouette of me so like the jewel on my tail. Next to it was a brown gage as tall as my silhouette with a little gold at the bottom.
“I’m jealous,” Collin groaned. “Look how much time you’ve earned back already. It took me an entire decade to earn an hour and you’ve done it in less than a week,” he said, pointing to the clock.
What? Really? How can you tell? I asked.
It looked like a clock with way too many hands.
He pointed to green and gold hands.
“The light green hands read like the gold ones, but the green ones are your time and the gold hands follow real time, so you see the green line? The green line will mark how much time you have from where your green hands are. It’s important to make sure that the green hands never go over the green line, got it.”
I nodded.
“Good,” he said. “The closer you are to running out of time, the more strain you’ll face until it’s painful. The rest of these hands are orders or events or whatever you can imagine. This gage over here is your life meter. Good for you. You’ve already earned some back.
“What you should know is that this can also go back down based on Cross and how well you take care of yourself. It’s good to do your job; it’s bad to break the rules. If you stay human over your time this will shrink fast. If you disobey Cross he’ll take from you. If you come too close to death, this will go down. Just remember that it goes down faster than up. That’s not even close to how much you’ll need to know but it’s basic. You’ll learn the rest in time with experience.”
Okay, I said, though I really didn’t care about all this stuff.
With the way Cross and I went at it, it’d be a wonder if I ever paid back my debt. And how many times already have I knocked on Death’s door. What's more, I wasn’t really interested in being human at present.
I was this scared all my shortcomings and failures would flood back breaking my heart again.
But just to be sure…
So I have an hour a day?
“That’s what your book says,” he confirmed.
I pawed the book close and it disappeared. I checked my collar, and there it was.
Collar, or tether.
I shivered when I remembered what Blendon Sharon revealed about Cross. Not only was he that vile creature’s brother, but he had also promised to protect her son, Heath. That’s why he was here.
Cross had ordered all his familiars not to bother Heath, and though him being dangerous had a lot to do with it, it was revealed to me alone that he was also protecting that monster. The creature that had stolen the lives and souls of so many children.
To make a Tree of Life?
“What is it?” Collin asked, and the anger I felt turned my belly.
I thought about it.
Collin spoke Cross’ name familiarly, but what did he really know about him? How did he really feel?
Collin? What do you know of Cross?
“Cross? You mean the ‘Master.’ That’s not hard. He’s a nutcase for one. A narcissistic egomaniac for two. Lucky you got here a week ago and not last month. He went around forcing everyone to eat chocolates and tried to get us to stay still long enough to see how we’d react. Turns out he got a poisoned gift from a rival and used us as guinea pigs because he reeeaally wanted one.
“Another thing, he’s prone to mood swings. He’ll laugh one moment, then fly off the backswing the next, then he’ll cry over spilt milk after that. Oh, and he’s got a competitive streak as large as his ego. And he’s really petty. I forgot to greet him once, and every day for three months he’d sulk whenever I came around and ignore me as if I was supposed to care what that meant. Then one day he just exploded. Talk about immature.
“Oh!” Collin considered. “I guess you should know about the Annul-Anon! Apparently, we’re not the only ones who thought Cross was annoying. Some broad he scorned fixed him really good a really long time ago and cursed him. She fixed his immortality so that he’d age and have to repeat his life over and over again from infancy. He just restarted the cycle about six years ago.”
That would explain things, I told Collin. The last time I had seen Cross he had wrinkles over wrinkles.
I was confused to learn that the old man who saved me was a child. I’d never have figured he was cursed.
“I didn’t either. Now I just wish that he wasn’t. If I thought him complaining about how his back hurt or how hot his cold soup was bad then, younger him whining all the time and running rampant is a nightmare. Why couldn’t the curse include him forgetting everything? He doesn’t, not even as a baby. What’s worse is we can’t just walk really fast and hope to outpace him. He can keep up now.”
I laughed.
I was always taught to be patient with my elders, but being rude to an older Cross just tickled me. I knew he deserved it.
“Don’t laugh at our misery. If you were here you wouldn’t laugh. You’d scream and pull your hair out. Especially if he came up to you and said, ‘Uun, my bunions are carrying me again. Uun, my achin’ feet. You young skeeter-fleeters don’t know what you’ve got! Come over here and give my feet a rub.’ Disgusting,” Collin said in the best imitation of Old Man Cross and I fell over, a strangled sound trying to become human laughter escaped my soul-self.
Stop, please! This is painful.
Though I couldn’t stop.
“I don’t think I will! If I had to suffer, then you’ll suffer for finding my suffering amusing! Oh, and did I tell you about when he got a wheelchair. I learned from Berry that if you push hard enough, you could let it roll on its own for miles and he’d never notice because of how self-absorbed he is. That was the best discovery, and we all did it because no one wanted to push him around. Then one time Faline did it while we were in Meriwether, and Ever caught her and she freaked out and forgot about Cross, and down some stairs he went, forever ending the wheelchair amnesty!”
He clapped his hands closing a figurative book.
Now I was failed. I was in an agony both euphoric and torturous.
No more! Please!
“What? But I haven’t told you about—”
There was a loud, awful, buzzing sound that shocked me out of my exhilaration and sent me flying into the ceiling. I bumped my head and bounced back down to the bed in pain once more.
Ow! I whined.
“Sorry about that. Doorbell. I keep meaning to get it changed, but seeing as I don’t have too many visitors who actually use it, I keep forgetting. I’ll be back.”