Flicker

by Arreyn Grey

  “So if that's true, what changed? Why...” she didn't need to complete the thought.

  Gregory sighed. “Biology. To be frank, puberty. You grew from the body of a child to the body of a woman, and the instinct to protect was joined by an instinct to possess. It didn't matter to those idiot boys that your mind wasn't ready, or that you might not be theirs to possess to begin with-- biology wants what it will.”

  After a moment, Elise was able to swallow and whisper, “That doesn't sound very effective.”

  Gregory shrugged. “It is, and it isn't. Evolution takes time. You must remember that pairing off as late as twenty and thirty years old is a recent development as far as history is concerned, and that these genetic imperatives have yet to catch up.”

  Alex spoke for the first time in several minutes; Elise had nowhere near forgotten he was there, but was almost surprised to hear him jump in. “It doesn't always work,” he said softly, gazing out the window. Gregory sighed again, leaning back on his loveseat.

  “You tell her,” he said, his voice tinged with sadness.

  Alex grimaced. “There was another omnivore,” he said. “He was born several centuries ago, and was caught in a power struggle as a young child, each side recognizing to some degree his power and vying to possess it. It didn't go well.”

  Elise sat up straight. “But wait, there's another omnivore out there, who isn't affiliated with this Court? Can I learn from him?” She checked her eager tone, pressing Alex's hand reassuringly. “Not that you aren't a good teacher, of course,” she smiled at him. The expression melted from her face, however, when she took in the look in Alex's eyes. “What?”

  Alex took both of her hands in his. “There isn't anymore,” he said gently, his face etched with sorrow. “No one is certain which side did it, but the conflict came to a point where someone decided that if they could not control him, no one could.”

  “So they murdered him?” Elise breathed; she didn't need Alex's reluctant nod to answer her. Elise stood abruptly. “I don't mean to be rude,” she addressed Gregory, fighting to keep her voice even. “But is there somewhere I can be alone for a few minutes?”

  “Of course,” he replied gently, and gestured to the hallway Alex had disappeared into. “The spare bedroom is back that way, on your left. Take as much time as you need.”

  Elise spun on her heel and was gone, barely hearing the soft murmur of their voices in her wake.

  Gregory caught Alexander's arm when his friend made to follow Elise. When Alexander whirled on him, eyes aflame, Gregory simply shook his head. “We need to talk,” he said quietly.

  Alexander suppressed the urge to shake his old friend off violently, taking deep, slow breaths to control the protective instinct that was screaming at him to get to Elise no matter the cost. Gregory was more subtle, but Alexander could sense him very carefully containing his own emotions; with just two of them, the mix wasn't as volatile, but it was always best to be cautious. “What about?” He was finally able to ask calmly.

  “How did Rashid find you? Do you think she--” Gregory glanced down the hallway where Elise had disappeared, hesitating as he drew Alexander back toward the couches. Resigned, Alexander sat.

  “I don't think she drew him here, no-- I think it had to do with our carelessness a few weeks ago,” he said, his eyes darting back down the hall as well.

  Gregory's eyebrows rose. “I know the riot caused a bit of a stir, but you don't think he noticed it all the way in... wherever he keeps his camp these days?”

  Alexander shrugged. “I didn't keep it a secret that I was visiting all of my friends,” he said heavily. “If he wanted to, how hard would it have been for him to post one of his spies here in New York and wait for me to come to you? It wouldn't have taken long-- I spent six months in Brazil with Giovanna and Caterina, a year in Seattle with Isaiah and Adelaide, took a detour to South Carolina to see the twins, and then came straight up here. All in all, less than two years. Trust me, I worried about the possibility of Elise drawing him here, but it seems unlikely.”

  “I'm glad.” Gregory paused, glancing back to make sure Elise was still out of earshot, and lowered his voice. “She's very powerful,” Gregory began; Alexander nodded. His friend sighed. “You have to take her to the Court-- you won't be able to hide her here for long.”

  “I know we can't keep this a secret forever,” Alexander answered curtly. “I won't ask you to lie to the Queen if she asks you--”

  “It's not that,” Gregory interrupted. “Alexander, she's right about needing an omnivore to train her. There are aspects of power you don't even understand, and even if we brought an herbivore to work with you, you just won't be able to teach her how to utilize her abilities completely. Your training will be incomplete at best, a hindrance at worst.”

  Alexander dropped his head into his hands. “I know,” he muttered, knowing Gregory would hear him. After a moment, he sat back up and looked the other man in the eyes. “But she's not ready to go there yet. She couldn't hold her own for a minute against Fariba or Hannu, let alone Katyusha or the Queen.”

  Gregory raised his eyebrows. “Well, let's hope she doesn't have to.”

  “You know it always comes to that,” Alexander snapped, trying and failing to be patient. Just the thought of Elise going to the Court set his heart pounding. “They want what they want, and there's no stopping them. You think she's ready for that?”

  “You weren't always this condemnatory.” As always, Gregory was perceptive-- and nosy. “Are you afraid to take her there for her sake, or for yours?”

  Alexander glared. “That is none of your business.”

  “Maybe not,” Gregory shrugged. “But I'm pretty sure it's hers.”

  “All right, all right, you win,” Alexander acquiesced abruptly, dropping his palms onto his thighs with a sharp slap and sitting back onto the loveseat. “I'll tell her soon. Whose side are you on, anyway?”

  Gregory chuckled, but sobered as he changed the subject. “So... Rashid,” he said carefully.

  Alexander was instantly rigid, his fists clenched on his knees as he fought for calm. “What of him?”

  “How does he know what she is?”

  “He couldn't not know.” Alexander's voice was grim. “She was casting when he came up on us, and didn't think to shield for a few minutes. Not her fault, of course, but still.”

  Gregory grimaced. “I wonder, though, how long he's known.”

  Alexander looked at him like he was crazy. “Since two days ago, I would assume.”

  “That would be the assumption, yes,” Gregory's gaze was quelling. “But if he's been in town for nearly a month, he could have felt her at any number of times. I did, the second she came into the building-- even with you shielding her.”

  Alexander started to scoff, then looked at him closely. “You aren't kidding, are you?”

  Gregory shook his head somberly. “I knew what to look for, but still, she's too strong. It won't be long before she starts attracting more of our kind; I think the only reason more of us aren't drawn to her already is the fact that she's kept herself so isolated.”

  “But she's opening up now,” Alexander said slowly, dread in his voice. He barely even saw Gregory nod. How was he going to brace her for this next round of trials?

  One thing at a time, however. He stood, looking down at Gregory. “I'm going to go check on her. Give us a few minutes, will you?”

  Gregory chuckled. “Should I come rescue you when I hear screaming?” When Alexander glared at him, he just laughed harder. “This young lady, unless I miss my guess, has quite the temper.”

  Alexander winced. “You don't have anything sharp in that bedroom, do you?”

  A knock at the door made Elise look up from her concentrated study of her hands. She was almost completely sure it was Alex on the other side, but she wasn't willing to try letting down her shield to check. Just in case it was Gregory, she kept her voice polite when she called, “Come in.”

  Alex opene
d the door.

  Immediately, Elise's eyes narrowed with fury. Well, she thought reasonably. If he's going to walk right into it, there's no need to be nice. “Can I help you?” She asked sweetly.

  Alex cleared his throat, easing through the door but hesitating to shut it behind him. “I came to see how you were doing,” he said, his expression guarded.

  Elise shut her eyes, breathing through her teeth and counting slowly to ten as she did her best not to lose her mind. “I'm just fine, all things considered,” she told him when she could speak without snapping. When she looked at him again, he was leaning his shoulder against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, looking every inch the stereotypical teenaged boy. In that moment, it would have been hard to believe he was centuries old-- that is, if she hadn't been able to see his eyes.

  But the strands of his hair didn't cast enough of a shadow over his face to hide the carefully contained fire there-- a fire that warned her to be very, very careful. Her heart skipped a beat. After holding her gaze for a long breath, he raised an eyebrow, inviting her to continue. She couldn't tell exactly what he was feeling or thinking right now, and wasn't exactly inclined to reach out and try to discover it, but it occurred to her that perhaps she should tread lightly with him.

  “I wish you'd told me about the other omnivores,” Elise blurted out, her fury at war with her fear at the hint of violence she'd seen shifting under Alex's contained facade.

  Alex's voice was neutral when he answered. “I know,” he said simply. Elise's anger sharpened once more as she, in turn, looked at him with an arrogant question in her expression. He shrugged, and dropped a bit of his attitude. “Look, Elise, I know that you want answers. I know that it frustrates you not to get them-- especially when you know I have the information you're looking for. But consider, for a moment, what would happen if I sat down to tell you every bit of information that you'll need to know. If we talked night and day for a month, no breaks for sleep or school or the rest of your life, I'd be able to pack everything in. Would you retain it? How would you feel if you didn't get a chance to practice any of the new skills I'm trying to teach you? And what questions would your parents ask if you suddenly dropped everything, started skipping school, just to hang out with me?” He looked at her hard. “Patience and balance are skills I know you possess-- now might be a very good time to exercise them.”

  Elise glared at him. “I understand all that,” she snapped. “But you don't think it bothers me that you get to decide, all by yourself, what I learn and when? How is making flowers bloom more important than knowing that there are other people out there who are like me-- that they're ruling the freaking world!” She stood sharply, her hands balled into fists at her sides as she struggled to keep her power in check. “How do you think it makes me feel that I have to find those things out from Rashid? Let me tell you how much easier that makes it to trust you.”

  “You might want to sit back down,” Alex bit out the words crisply and icily, his eyes flashing dangerously. He was standing so very still, not moving a muscle as he continued to lean against the wall, and Elise's instincts screamed at her that she should listen to him. Swallowing hard, she did as he said.

  For a moment, they stood in silence, each of them carefully reconstructing their self-control after what Elise realized was an extremely close brush with violence. Then Alex blew out a long breath and spoke again. “Consider how difficult it was for you to tell me about your past. It was a traumatic event, and I understand that. But do me a favor and remember that I have lived ten times as long as the average human-- and a great deal of that living has taken place in far more savage places and times than this one. You don't think that my past holds a few of those black holes as well?” Elise nodded slowly, frowning as she struggled against the sympathy she couldn't help but feel. “Now consider that my own painful experiences are tied very closely, more often than not, to the information I should be telling you.”

  Elise bit her lip, unable to stop herself from understanding exactly what he meant. It had been so terrifying for her to open up and tell him about just one incident that had nearly broken her beyond all repair-- what must it be like for him to have any number of them hidden away in his memory? “So, telling me about the Court...

  Alex sighed. “It's something I should have done weeks ago, yes. But for me, that knowledge goes hand in hand with some of the worst times of my life. I'm trying to be open with you, and I have already trusted you with more of myself than I have shown anyone in a very long time. But it will be a process.

  Elise nodded again. “I understand,” she said immediately.

  Alex frowned at her, studying her hard. “Do you, truly?” He asked, his voice reserved.

  She thought about it. In theory, she could comprehend what he was saying-- she'd experienced it herself, not too long ago. But in actuality, she doubted that she'd be able to hang on to the perspective, the grand scale, of his life for very long. After a dragging moment, she shook her head, her shoulders drooping. Hesitantly, peeking through the eyelashes of her power, she painstakingly opened up to him just a tiny bit, thinking hard about what she'd just realized. Across the small room, she saw him wince a bit.

  “Shhh,” he soothed her, his hand out in a gesture that was either meant to calm her or ward her off. “You don't have to think about it so loudly; it's like you're shouting right now.” Elise flushed, fighting to quiet her mental voice, until she wasn't willing him to hear her-- she was simply thinking. “That's much better,” Alex said with a slight smile of approval that lifted her spirits immensely.

  Elise stood again, much more calmly. “So, is there any chance that you won't mind if I ask Gregory about the Court?” She hesitated, remembering to add, “Will he mind?

  Alex reached out for Elise's hand, leading her back into the hallway and out to the living room. “You'll have to ask him, but I doubt it,” he chuckled. “He's too in love with the sound of his own voice.”

  Gregory glared up from a large, ancient-looking book he was holding gingerly in white-gloved hands. “I am not,” he sniffed.

  Elise was surprised and worried to hear her phone ringing as she walked home alone from school the following Tuesday. Aside from the predictable holiday calls from her grandparents, the only people who really contacted her this way were her parents, and that was infrequent at best.

  She dug into her pocket, managing to get the little device out before it went to voicemail. She didn't recognize the number, but before she could think better of it, she hit the answer button.

  “Hello?” She answered, slightly out of breath and preparing to let the poor person on the other end know that they had the wrong number.

  “Good afternoon, Elise,” Rashid's voice whispered in her ear.

  She very nearly dropped the phone in shock. Her first impulse was to hang up on him, and yet-- “How did you get this number?” She demanded.

  “No manners at all today?” He sighed, and the breath was a caress through the little speaker, sending shivers down her spine. “It was quite simple, really-- you see, once I convinced her that I had nothing to do with those nasty little rumors going around at your old school, your grandmother-- that is to say, your Grandma Whitfield, was it? How quaint. Well, she was very happy to help one of your old friends get back in touch.”

  Hot rage and freezing terror swept through Elise in waves. “You stay away from my family!” She hissed the order through clenched teeth to keep her voice from shaking.

  “Now now, kitten,” he all but drawled, and she could tell he was pleased to have gotten such a reaction out of her. That more than anything fueled her anger until it burned out any trace of fear. Maybe Rashid hadn't heard about what she'd done to Bill a few weeks ago, but she'd be happy to tell him in person.

  “What do you want, Rashid?” She almost snarled.

  “My goodness, such ferocity. I simply wanted to invite you to have dinner with me in town this evening. It would be like a little business meeting. I so en
joyed our last one.” Elise could almost hear the sadistic smile in his voice.

  Taking a deep breath, she forced her fury down enough that she could match his poisoned-honey tone. “Luna, the little Italian bistro on the corner of Main and Sixth Street, in fifteen minutes.” She hung up sharply, the phone slipping a little in her slick palm. Should she really have done that? She'd let her temper get the better of her, and it felt like letting a shark bait her into jumping into its tank. But the threat to her family had been pretty clear-- what would Rashid have done to them if she'd outright refused him? For now, until she and Alex could figure out what he wanted here and how to get rid of him, she'd have to comply with his intimidation tactics, but doing so left a sour taste in her mouth and fed her anger steadily.

  Through her pulsing rage, Elise heard a sharp sound. Confused, she looked down, and saw a small crack that had appeared in the plastic case of her cell phone.

  He was waiting for her, of course. Elise saw him watching her as she crossed the street, and barely contained the urge to slap him the moment she reached him. She told herself it wouldn't do any good to strike out at him, but she couldn't lie to herself-- she stayed her hand because without Alex beside her, Rashid terrified her.

  “Miss Whitfield, lovely as ever.” His smile reminded her of a shark, and his overly intimate tone was somehow a threat. He offered her his arm in a mockery of an old-fashioned gentleman. “Won't you join me for dinner?”

  “It's a little early for that,” she snapped, raising her chin and purposely avoiding his touch as she swept past him through the door into the tiny restaurant.

  It was barely four in the afternoon; they shared the dining room with only two other couples. The lack of competing diners placed their waiter at their table in a heartbeat, ready to take their drink orders, but Elise wasn't fooled. Rashid's display in the coffee shop last week had achieved the desired effect: Elise was well aware that the young man's attention would do nothing to protect her.