Tina stood and moved to the center of the room before her body receded and she became nothing but the column of flame Grace had seen earlier. This flame wasn’t angry or hungry. Grace couldn’t see the desire to devour everything in its path. The flame spun toward the door and the walls, even the floor and the ceiling; no matter how it tried or beat against the cell there was no way out.
Tina finally took her body and went to sit in the opposite corner from Grace.
“I was in here for ten years, Grace. Your dad would monitor me every day. When I was in my normal body, he would slip food through the slot in the door. There were times the flame allowed me to have my normal body for days. It wanted to trick him, to devour him, but we had done our research and expected this. He didn’t just feed me, he fed the flame too. He didn’t want me to be normal; he didn’t want my gift to go away, he simply wanted me to be in control.
“Ten years, Grace, then one day I opened my eyes, and I knew who I was, where I was, and that I had a baby who wasn’t a baby anymore somewhere in the world.”
“Why didn’t you come after me ten years ago?”
“It wasn’t that easy or even that straightforward.” Tina stood and went to lay her hand against the door. “Let us out, love.”
The sound of the locks reversing and the heavy door sliding open finally allowed Grace to breathe normally.
“Let’s go to the living room.”
They walked through the basement; it was smaller and darker than Grace noticed when they first walked down there. She walked up the steps and back through the kitchen still feeling confused that both her parents were still alive and for the most part well.
She took a seat and waited for her mom to continue, but her dad took up the story.
“For the next three years, your mom lived in that basement. We were scared she would run into one of the females around here and burn them to a crisp. The women around here are nice but there aren’t a lot of men around, and they would come and bring me food even though I asked them not to come or bring food. Then they would tell me what a good husband I was staying with a wife that was obviously sick or insane since she never came out of the basement.”
“Then they would proposition him. And my flame and I could hear every word every voice, and I memorized them swearing to kill them all. I lived for two things at that point in my life. You and your father. I had to give you up, I wasn’t giving him up too. It took three years to regain enough mental control that I wouldn’t kill the women on sight.”
“Then we had seven years of reconditioning Tina. Being out of polite society for thirteen years and then going to the grocery store was enough to drive her mad. It took time, plenty of it. Then we went to look for you.”
Tina stood up and went to stand in front of Grace. Grace stood with tears running down her face and threw herself into her mother arms. Twenty years of life started to flow from her lips, and then finally she said his name.
“Mom, dad you would love Joaquin.”
Chapter Eleven
Joaquin woke up with a start. The first thing he did was slide his hand along the bed looking for Grace. She was gone. Why was he surprised? The good things in his life never lasted long.
He stood with a heavy heart and made his way into the bathroom. How much longer before The Trialx stopped playing with him and simply killed him. He wasn’t a fool, and he wasn’t naïve, The Trialx had the power. He could feel it sliding across his shoulders. It felt at times like The Trialx was taunting him.
He stepped into the shower remembering when he had nothing to lose. There was no Grace and no real reason to hang onto life. Then she showed up making his life a little different. Her smiled warmed him, and his heart started beating again.
Grace, where was she? Had The Trialx killed her, leaving him to wonder where she was until the day he died? He stepped out the shower, towel dried, and reached for a pair of pants. The walk to the kitchen was short. It was the male sitting on the barstool that caught his attention.
“Can I help you?”
The male stood up and turned around. So this is how it ends? Joaquin knew who the male was although he’d never seen him before, but his power crawled over his skin calling to the Arbrin and the Matra inside of him. He was facing The Trialx without this being there would be no trials, and maybe his people wouldn’t exist.
“Joaquin.” His voice was deep, and it touched every nerve in Joaquin’s body making him shake involuntarily.
“Trialx.” Joaquin gave a bow. It was the only respectful thing he could do. This male made it so his people could come together on a level they couldn’t achieve on their own. Somehow he facilitated the soul-bonding process.
“Have you come to kill me?”
“That’s a valid question, one that I’ve been pondering. I have a better question for you, tell me about Grace.”
The Trialx walked out the kitchen and sat in one of Joaquin’s plush armchairs, so he sat in the one across from him.
“I don’t know what to tell you about Grace. She’s here with me so you should know everything. I could tell you that there’s brightness in her eyes when she is happy. They glow without the benefit of her fire. I could tell you she makes me happy. But why would I be here if that wasn’t true?
“Grace is an enigma. She’s strong on the outside, soft on the inside. Her heart bleeds for the things she thinks she must do. Her flame is a gift, one she wants to use for good. Even when she thought it was too late for her, she wanted me to run, to live. As if there is life without her.”
Joaquin stopped; he wanted to plead for her life, tell The Trialx all the reasons she should walk out of here alive, but the most compelling reason he had was one The Trialx wouldn’t respect.
“I love Grace. I just do. There are thousands of reasons I could give you, but she simply gets me and is willing to stay with me even when I’m not always sure I would stay with me. Don’t kill her.” He knew better than to ask anybody for anything but they were talking about Grace.
“I’m the abomination, not Grace. Let her walk out of here alive.”
“That’s the problem, she either walks out of here with you or she doesn’t walk out ever.”
“Then let me go, I’ll come back. You won’t have to chase me. I will come right back as soon as she’s in her body.”
“You can’t come back. The door won’t open for a single person, and it won’t open if you bring someone you don’t love.”
“Please don’t kill Grace.”
The Trialx stood up, “Walk with me, Joaquin.”
He briefly thought of grabbing a shirt or shoes but The Trialx wasn’t waiting, and he couldn’t afford to get left behind. He walked into the trail The Trialx left.
They moved swiftly leaving big cities behind until they came to a small community that looked like it was in a rural gated area. Joaquin looked around not seeing anyone until a dog ran through a yard and a child’s high laughter called it back.
The Trialx stopped moving and waited. Joaquin was impressed how he could stand without moving a muscle. A young girl maybe three or four ran out of the house after the dog calling his name. She reminded him of his mother. Long silver hair and silver eyes.
He wanted to approach her but was afraid he might scare her. She turned around and took one look at The Trialx and screamed. Her parents came running out of the house and neighbors began to show up. Finally, they were surrounded, but no one was paying attention to him, they were all focused on The Trialx.
A male from the back of the crowd moved through until he stood right in front of them.
“I knew you would show up. It was just a matter of time,” the male said. “My name is Stevon.” He was tall and a little thicker than the males around him. He had the same silver hair and silver eyes as the rest of the people who stood around him.
“You can call me Trialx, and this is Joaquin.”
“If you follow me, we can go to my house to talk.” They followed Stevon with all eyes watchin
g them.
“You’re a hybrid,” Stevon commented to Joaquin.
They walked in silence after that. The houses were a nice distance away giving privacy but still close enough to visit. Stevon lived the furthest out. His house was single level and spread over a large plot of land. He had a horse tied up close to the house that he stroked before he led them inside.
“Please,” he indicated the comfortable looking furniture, “have a seat.”
The Trialx sat on the middle cushion of the couch commanding the room while Stevon and Joaquin each chose an armchair.
“How long have you known we were here?” Stevon asked.
“The minute Quay loaded you onto the shuttlecraft.”
Stevon looked up startled. Quay had come to him in secret. It all had to happen without anyone knowing. They couldn’t say goodbye or tell their families, they simply had to disappear.
“Quay was good, but not that good. I may have helped her without her knowledge.”
“Why? You hate us.”
“At the time I thought it would be a shame if the pure Sudir died.” The Trialx said looking at Stevon before he turned to study Joaquin.
How one race becomes two, Joaquin thought. Now there were the Sudir, monsters unable to touch the ground with four legs and a head full of eyes. Then there were the pure Sudir. They were what nature always intended them to be with their silver hair and eyes.
Stevon shrugged, “We may not be alike, but we are still the same race.”
“Are you? The Sudir don’t hunt you? They don’t wish to annihilate you?” The Trialx asked once again staring at Stevon.
“They see us, and we remind them of what they use to be before hatred and greed took them over. There was a time when the Arbrin, Matra, and Sudirs were friends. They put an end to that friendship,” Stevon replied looking at Joaquin.
“No, you put an end to that friendship. Every time your lips curl up, and you say half-breed you're killing the friendship. You're only alive today because his mother,” The Trialx stopped to look at Joaquin, “and his father went against everything they knew to save you. You're alive because the Arbrin/Matra saved your lives. Yet you live here in this tiny protected community not caring if they live or die and condemning any of your females who fall in love with one of them. How many females, couples, and children have you banished from here?”
Stevon stood and paced back and forth throwing looks at The Trialx and Joaquin.
“I’m protecting the community. Keeping the other Sudir from finding us and destroying what we have built here.”
“Were you protecting yourself when you put Lukon and his pregnant wife out? Were you protecting yourself when you let Quay die and left her son alone even as she begged for your help? Were you protecting yourself then?”
Stevon blanched and fell into the armchair. “I made some mistakes, some bad ones.”
He turned to look at Joaquin. “I debated too long about whether to help your mother and then it was too late. I always thought my real sin was that I never collected you. Never told you there was a community of people just like you. I’ve always regretted that.”
“You let my mom die when you could have saved her, that was your real mistake.”
Stevon dropped his head.
“Have you come to destroy us now?” Stevon asked The Trialx.
“That depends on Joaquin. I brought him here to be judge and jury. If Quay were alive, I would leave the decision of what to do with you to her. But she’s not. So the duty falls to her son. I’ll be back in four hours, good luck.”
He simply disappeared leaving Joaquin staring at Stevon, the male he now hated with all his heart.
“I deserve to die, Joaquin, but not everyone else. They didn’t do anything.”
“They didn’t lift a finger when they could have. They didn’t stop you from kicking others like me out when they had a chance. You all deserve to die.”
“Maybe, but at least get to know them before you condemn them to death.”
Joaquin got up and followed him out the room. Stevon took him around the back of his property and up a wide hill. There all the pure Sudir from the community were gathered.
“Why are they all here?”
“Because they know they will die today, and they want to spend their last hours together. We always knew this day would come.” Stevon introduced him to the all the couples and then left him alone to talk or sit and stare.
Joaquin walked over to a barn going inside. He didn’t want to see the happy, pure Sudir couples with their children running and playing. When all he could remember was scratching out a living. His thoughts drifted to Grace, wondering if she was safe.
“Are you really a half-breed?” A young girl asked the question.
He looked at her; she reminded him of Makayla with her eyes that saw everything and wisdom far older than a child should have.
“Yes, my mom was a Sudir, and my dad was an Arbrin/Matra.”
“I’m a half-breed. My momma told me always to be proud of my heritage. When my daddy gets a new place to live and work, we are going to run away with him. They went through the trials and everything.”
“Where is your daddy?”
“He comes at night. If Patra Stevon saw him, he would kick mom and me out. Dad says it’s not safe enough for us yet.”
Patra, the elder in charge. How could he be allowed to lead when children had to fear he would force them out of their homes because of who their fathers were?
Stevon walked in, and the small little girl fled out the door.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she? My son, he’s about two years older than her. He loves her already told me he’s going to marry her. I struggled for months over my child saying that then he brought her to the house for dinner. I was surprised her mom let her come although her father sat under my window the whole time she was in my house. He’s a good male.
“For a few hours, my house was alight with laughter, something it hasn’t seen since my mate died. She wasn’t my soul-mate, but I loved her. Elise brought my house alive and my son also and I asked myself one simple question. How could I continue to live with bitterness and hatred for people who never hurt me?”
Stevon turned and walked towards the door. “I’ll never put her, and her mother out and her father is out there right now because I was going to ask him to join our group. Things have to change. Please, when you condemn us to death spare their lives. The Trialx will be back soon; I thought you might like to eat before he got here.”
Stevon walked through the doorway leaving Joaquin alone.
Chapter Twelve
“You like to mess with your people’s lives.”
The Trialx turned his head to look at Voyager. They were both floating in the air; the gathering was beneath them, and Joaquin was walking through. It took him some time, and a talk with Elise for him to be willing to talk to the people gathered here.
“What do you think he will do? Kill them or save them?”
The Trialx shrugged. “What do I care? They are not my people, they live, they die, and still I go on.”
“Joaquin is yours as well as theirs. He is a bridge between the two worlds, and there are others, but he is the first. What will you do when you lose him and the others like him?”
“I could brand him a traitor. I could brand them all traitors for having blood in their veins that is not Arbrin or Matra.”
“What happens the day Vick succeeds his father as king? Will you brand him a traitor too?”
“You ask too many questions, Voyager.”
“That is why I am here, to make you think.”
“It is time to make an appearance.”
“Not yet,” Voyager replied. “We should watch a little longer.”
*~*~*~*
Grace was walking, but she didn’t know where she was. She had spent a long time talking with her parents when she started to feel like she was becoming lighter than air. Her father reached out to grab her, but it was
too late. She was gone. Had she talked to her parents or had it been a dream? She didn’t know, but it felt real.
She walked down the road feeling like she was being pulled from the present into the past. Brief images of her family flashed across her mind bringing both tears and anger to dwell in her. Tears because she would never see them again. Anger because they had died needlessly. They were good, loving people who in the end couldn’t overcome the curse on their lives.
At the end of the road was a cabin; it was small and looked like something she saw in a history book once. It was also sitting in the middle of the road. It screamed if you walked down this road there was only one place you were going. Her hands started to tingle with her fire but underneath she could feel fear. Her mind screamed at her to turn around this way led to death, but her feet wouldn’t stop, they kept moving even as the anger within her boiled to a fever pitch. There was no polite knock when she reached the door; she flung it open feeling a tiny bit better when it slammed into the wall.
“Did that make you feel better?” The woman who asked was beautiful, black silky hair that reached down her back and eyes so blue Grace bet every man that saw her fell under her spell.
A chill walked up Grace’s spine; the word witch rattled around her brain. Whoever this woman was her looks were misleading; she was evil.
“I always wondered when you or one of your kind would find me.”
“One of my kind?”
“The cursed. Surely you know I’m the reason your family is cursed. I can see my handiwork all over you. You’re out of time; soon the flame will consume you, and you won’t have a choice but to kill like the others before you. There’s no beating the curse.”
“The curse has been beaten.” Satisfaction filled her when she said that to the witch.
“You lie!” Her beautiful exterior shimmered for a moment as if it would fall apart before it solidified again.
“I’m telling the truth. The curse has been defeated at least once.” Grace moved into the cabin noting how much bigger it was on the inside. Magic, she shrugged. She saw too much of the stuff growing up, it didn’t impress her anymore.
Joaquin's Saving Grace (Alien Mates Book Five 5) Page 7